View
215
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
Examining the foundation for stronger fisheries-tourism synergies and increased local seafood consumption in the Bonne Bay region of Newfoundland
Prepared by: Kristen Lowitt, PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Funded by: Mitacs-Accelerate program (www.mitacs/accelerate.ca) and the Rural Secretariat, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador with support from the CURRA. Project steering committee: Ken Thomas, Roxanne Decker, Joseph Reid, Walter Nicolle, Joanie Cranston, Carolyn Lavers, Colleen Kennedy, Marion McCahon, Barb Neis and Anita Best. Barb Neis and Marion McCahon supervised the project. Thank you to the project partners who let Kristen spend time with them to learn about their businesses, and to Andrew Canning, Special Projects Assistant with CURRA and Safetynet for his assistance with data entry and analysis. All photos by Kristen Lowitt unless otherwise indicated.
Prepared for the CURRA, Memorial University of Newfoundland
The Community University Research for Recovery Alliance
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Bonne Bay area on Newfoundland’s west coast is surrounded by Gros Morne
National Park. The area has six communities within it and a relatively small year-round
population of 2948 people. Both tourism and fishing are important to the local economy
of the region. Approximately 187,000 tourists visited Gros Morne National Park during
the 2010-2011 tourism season (Parks Canada, 2011). Fishing is also an important
industry, employing approximately 17% of the workforce in the area in 2005
(Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency, 2009). This research project looked at
the foundations for improved economic opportunities for fish harvesters and tourism
operators, based on enhanced collaboration among the fisheries and tourism sectors, as
well as on increased regional consumption of seafood including among local people. It
was funded by the Mitacs-Accelerate program, and the Rural Secretariat, Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador with support from the CURRA at Memorial University.
There is a high demand for local seafood among tourists to the region as well as among
local residents. For tourists, seafood is a key culinary attraction. Many restaurants in the
Bonne Bay area specialize in seafood products and try to source fresh and local seafood
as much as possible. Local fish processing plants are the main source of seafood for
restaurants. However, some restaurant operators said it is a challenge to get a
consistent supply of fresh and local seafood with the quality and traceability they would
like. At the same time, fish harvesters are mainly selling their catches to local fish
processing plants and face challenges related to low prices and declining catches for
some species. The number of fish harvesters in the region is also declining and those still
fishing are getting older. This report outlines some new marketing ideas and forms of
collaboration among harvesters, processors, and tourism businesses that could help
improve the availability of fresh, local seafood to the tourism sector and local people
while providing new economic opportunities for both industries.
Local fishing culture and heritage is an important part of what attracts tourists to the
Bonne Bay area. Experiences are becoming more of a focus in tourism efforts in Canada
and beyond. A 2004 study commissioned by the Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation emphasized the need for the tourism
industry in the province to “focus on experiences first” (Economic Planning Group of
Canada, p.89). Experiential activities related to the fishery, such as boat tours led by fish
harvesters that take visitors on the water to demonstrate how they fish and catch some
3
seafood, offer another option for fish harvesters to diversify their fishing enterprises
while providing memorable experiences for visitors. The report outlines some of the
opportunities and challenges for implementing experiential fisheries-tourism activities
in the Bonne Bay area, and provides some examples from other places of experiential
tourism activities involving fisheries.
In addition to the important role fisheries play in the tourism sector in Bonne Bay, and
the capacity for enhanced collaboration that could strengthen both sectors, fisheries are
also an important part of the local food system for people living in the region. Increased
consumption of local seafood among residents has the potential to improve local
nutrition and to also help support the fishery by helping to diversify the markets for
locally produced seafood. An anonymous seafood survey was distributed to households
in the Bonne Bay area to look at trends and patterns in local seafood consumption.
These results show that local people strongly prefer eating seafood from Newfoundland
and Labrador over imported seafood, and that local seafood is eaten most often in the
summer. Local fish plants and networks of family and friends are the main ways
households are accessing local seafood. However, results also show a decline in
consumption of most major fish and shellfish species over the past five years.
Based on the findings from the project we propose the following recommendations for
increasing fisheries-tourism synergies in the Bonne Bay area and for strengthening
fisheries contribution to local food security:
Seafood and culinary tourism
• There is a need to develop a more consistent supply of fresh, local, and traceable
seafood for restaurants.
• Emerging initiatives, such as the ThisFish pilot project, may improve traceability
of seafood to the tourism sector while providing branding advantages to
harvesters and other seafood business.
• There is a large fish plant in the area that has in place strong working
relationships with restaurants and fish harvesters. These connections could be
built upon to try out new types of marketing arrangements among harvesters,
processors, and restaurant buyers.
• As catches for some commercial species decline there is an opportunity to
develop specialty seafood products that can be harvested or processed in small
4
quantities and sold to the tourism sector. Fish harvesters, processors, and
tourism operators should be brought together to discuss currently underutilized
species, the capacity for value-added processing, and what products may sell
well to restaurants and tourists.
• Direct marketing to restaurants, as well as local people, could allow harvesters to
capture more value for a portion of their catch. Direct marketing should be seen
as one additional strategy, in combination with other initiatives such as value-
added products and experiential tourism, to diversify economic options for fish
harvesters.
• There is a need for more research to look at the supply and demand for seafood
in local markets (including what types of seafood tourists and residents prefer
and how much they would pay) along with types and volumes of species being
harvested. This could be used to inform the development of any new local
seafood markets or products.
Fisheries and experiential tourism
• The province needs to develop a set of programs and policies designed to
promote fisheries/tourism synergies.
• Experiential tourism activities need to be developed in a form that achieves the
best fit between the tourism and fishing seasons. Experiential tourism activities
should be seen as an additional strategy for diversifying economic opportunities
for fishing enterprises but their success may require changing some fisheries
regulations.
• There are examples of experiential fisheries-tourism activities from other places
that can be used as starting points for developing pilot projects in this region.
Some examples are provided in Chapter Three of this report.
• In developing experiential activities, identifying and working with relevant
regulatory authorities, such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and
Transport Canada, will be key to addressing challenges related to infrastructure,
insurance, safety, and fishing seasons.
• A starting point for identifying experiential attractions could be to develop an
inventory of existing fishing infrastructure in the region. For example, many
harvesters already maintain fishing stores, stages and cabins which could serve
as sites for experiential activities such as fishing tours or demonstrations without
a lot of added capital investment.
5
• Skills training opportunities for fish harvesters in the areas of communications
and product promotion could provide new knowledge to work with their
professional fishing know-how.
• Organisational capacity to undertake culinary tourism and experiential tourism
initiatives could be strengthened through the establishment of a body such as a
cooperative that brings together interested stakeholders including fish
harvesters and tourism operators and links them with interested consumers.
Fisheries contributions to food security
• The enhanced integration of fisheries into local food systems may help sustain
fishing enterprises by diversifying economic opportunities and lessening
dependence on distant export markets.
• Marketing ideas outlined in this report to improve the availability of fresh and
local seafood to the tourism sector should similarly be considered in the context
of strengthening the role of fisheries in the local food system and improving
availability of seafood for people living in the Bonne Bay area.
• To inform the development of any new local markets more specific research
should look at the supply and demand for seafood in local markets, including
how much residents are able and willing to pay for seafood, along with the types
and volumes of species being harvested in the area.
• There is a need for further research to look into the factors contributing to the
decline in seafood consumption over the past five years that this survey has
indicated along with recommendations for addressing this decline.
• There is a need for more cross-sectoral policy making in which health, nutrition,
and food security considerations can be integrated into fisheries management
and tourism development decisions.
6
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 2
Seafood and culinary tourism ..................................................................................... 3
Fisheries and experiential tourism ............................................................................. 4
Fisheries contributions to food security ..................................................................... 5
Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 8
Context .......................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter One: Integrating fisheries and tourism in the Bonne Bay area .......................... 14
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 14
Partner profiles ............................................................................................................. 14
Fish Harvesters .......................................................................................................... 14
Tourism operators .................................................................................................... 17
Seafood as a culinary tourism attraction ...................................................................... 20
The buying and selling of seafood between the fisheries and tourism sectors ........... 23
Restaurants and buying seafood .............................................................................. 24
Fish harvesters, processors and selling seafood ....................................................... 26
Perspectives and ideas for seafood marketing ............................................................. 30
Direct marketing of seafood ..................................................................................... 30
New types of arrangements among harvesters, processors, and buyers ................ 33
Specialty seafood products ....................................................................................... 34
Experiential fisheries-tourism activities........................................................................ 36
Recommendations for fisheries and tourism development ......................................... 39
Seafood and culinary tourism ................................................................................... 39
Fisheries and experiential tourism: .......................................................................... 40
Chapter Two: Fisheries and food security ........................................................................ 42
Food security- an introduction ..................................................................................... 42
The role of fisheries in food security ............................................................................ 43
Seafood and food security in Bonne Bay ...................................................................... 45
7
A seafood survey in the Bonne Bay area ...................................................................... 46
Methods .................................................................................................................... 46
Results ....................................................................................................................... 46
Summary of key findings ........................................................................................... 60
Recommendations for strengthening fisheries contributions to food security in the
Bonne Bay area ......................................................................................................... 61
Chapter Three: Fisheries, tourism and local food system initiatives from other places .. 62
Culinary tourism initiatives ........................................................................................... 62
Taste of Nova Scotia ................................................................................................. 63
La Cuisine Regionale au Quebec ............................................................................... 64
Alternative models for marketing seafood ................................................................... 64
Community supported fisheries ............................................................................... 65
Fish buyers’ clubs ...................................................................................................... 67
Fish auctions ............................................................................................................. 67
Fish and farmers’ markets ........................................................................................ 68
Fish co-operatives ..................................................................................................... 69
Experiential fisheries-tourism projects ......................................................................... 69
Boat tours .................................................................................................................. 71
Fresh fish markets ..................................................................................................... 73
Seafood festivals ....................................................................................................... 74
Museums and heritage attractions ........................................................................... 76
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 78
References ........................................................................................................................ 79
APPENDIX A: Household seafood consumption survey .................................................... 86
8
INTRODUCTION
This report has been completed as part of a Mitacs-Accelerate internship. A core part of
the internship was a research project in the Bonne Bay area on Newfoundland’s west
coast looking at the foundations for improved economic opportunities for fish
harvesters and tourism operators based on enhanced collaboration among the fisheries
and tourism sectors, as well as on increased regional consumption of seafood including
among local people. The project was led by Kristen Lowitt, a PhD Student in
Interdisciplinary Studies at Memorial University, and funded by the Mitacs-Accelerate
program and the Rural Secertariat, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador with
support from the CURRA program at Memorial University. The project was overseen by
a community steering committee including Ken Thomas, Roxanne Decker, Joseph Reid,
Walter Nicolle, Joanie Cranston, Carolyn Lavers, Colleen Kennedy, Marion McCahon,
Barb Neis and Anita Best. Dr. Barb Neis, Memorial University and Marion McCahon,
Rural Secretariat supervised the project.
This project is the second step in a series of initiatives to look at fisheries-tourism
synergies in the Bonne Bay area. The first step involved community workshops hosted
by the CURRA, including Bonne Bay: A Treasure and a Resource in October 2009 and a
Fisheries-Tourism Forum in June 2010. This project examined the potential for increased
collaboration among the fisheries and tourism sectors that was raised at these earlier
events1.
Building on this project, future steps in fisheries and tourism work will include
production of a report on regulatory challenges associated with promoting fisheries-
tourism synergies to be funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
and a pilot experiential fisheries-tourism project to be supported by the same
department and developed by the Red Ochre Regional Economic Development Board.
Results from this project will also be incorporated into Kristen’s PhD research about
food security and fisheries in the Bonne Bay area. The thesis will look in more detail at
some of the findings from this project.
1 See: Bonne Bay Fishery-Tourism Forum, June 13 2010: Meeting Report. Prepared by Joanie Cranston.
Available at http://www.curra.ca/documents/Bonne_Bay_Fishery-Tourism_Final_Report-2010-for_Web.pdf
Bonne Bay a Treasure and a Resource. Prepared by Joan Cranston, Barb Neis, and Anita Best. Available at
http://www.curra.ca/documents/Bonne%20Bay%20Meetings%20FINAL%20Report%20Jan%2013%202010.pdf
9
The main forms of data collection for this project included observations and discussions
during internships with four fish harvester enterprises and four tourism operators in the
Bonne Bay area who agreed to be partners on this project, as well as an anonymous
survey distributed to local households about seafood consumption. The host enterprises
for this project included: Darrell Burden & Greg Kennedy, fish harvesters, Norris Point;
Glenn Samms, fish harvester, Norris Point; Ernie Decker and Lynn Halfyard, fish
harvesters, Rocky Harbour; John and Roxanne Decker, fish harvesters, Rocky Harbour;
Todd Wight, Ocean View Hotel and Restaurant, Rocky Harbour; Vince McCarthy, Sugar
Hill Inn, Norris Point; Tom and Doris Sheppard, Sheppard’s Bed and Breakfast, Trout
River; and Ken Thomas, Lighthouse Restaurant, Woody Point. A profile of each partner
and their business is provided in Chapter One.
Several days spent with each partner allowed Kristen to better understand the fishing
and tourism sectors, including how seafood moves between them, and to identify
potential opportunities and challenges for these sectors to work more closely together
in order to maximize benefits to both sectors and the local economy. To broaden out
the findings from the internship, six interviews with key informants from the fisheries
and tourism sectors in the area were completed. The seafood survey provides
information about the importance of seafood to the diets of people living in the Bonne
Bay area.
This report is organized into three chapters. Chapter One is co-authored by Kristen and
the project partners and shares the results of Kristen’s observations and discussions
with people in these enterprises and the results of the key informant interviews.
Chapter Two presents the findings from the seafood survey distributed to local
households in the Bonne Bay area. Chapter Three discusses examples of successful
initiatives from other places that have integrated fisheries and seafood into local food
systems and tourism.
10
Context
The Bonne Bay area is located on
Newfoundland’s west coast and
surrounded by Gros Morne National Park.
The region has six communities and a
relatively small year-round population of
2948 people.
Both tourism and fishing are important to
the local economy of the region.
Approximately 187,000 visitors came to
Gros Morne National Park in the 2010-2011 tourism season (Parks Canada, 2011).The
tourism sector provides a substantial share of seasonal employment in the region.
Fishing also remains an important seasonal industry, employing approximately 17% of
the workforce in 2005, including 195 people in fish harvesting and 70 in fish processing
(Newfoundland & Labrador Statistics Agency, 2009). The Bonne Bay area is located in
NAFO Fishing Division 4R, and has commercial fisheries for crab, lobster, cod, mackerel,
halibut, herring, capelin, and turbot as well as recreational fisheries for cod, trout, and
salmon. There are three seafood processing facilities and one seafood retail outlet in the
area.
Both the fisheries and tourism sectors have experienced many changes over the last two
decades. In the early 1990s, almost all cod fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador were
placed under moratoria because of severe resource declines. The 1994 moratorium on
cod fishing in area 4R, along with the 1992 moratorium on the commercial Atlantic
Salmon fishery, had a substantial impact on local fishing enterprises. It put many fish
harvesters, processing workers and other local businesses in jeopardy while additional
conservation measures, including substantial limits on subsistence fishing for cod were
also eventually imposed. A multi-generational crisis, the cod stock collapse also affected
young people who would have entered the fishery and ended some fishing traditions
while changing others. Thousands of women across the province who worked in fish
harvesting and processing also lost their jobs (Neis & Williams, 1996). Women fishers in
particular struggled to qualify for government adjustment programs, while in their
family roles they also bore much of the stress of the fishery closures (Neis & Williams,
1996).
Bonne Bay.
11
Nearly all part-time fish harvesters left the industry after the moratorium (Schrank,
2005). Since the moratorium, there has been a shift to more shellfish harvesting and
processing, which accounted for 84% of the total landed value of capture fisheries in the
province in 2009 (Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture, 2011). In recent years, numbers of full time fish harvesters have also
started to decline. In the Bonne Bay area, there was a 7% decline in the number of fish
harvesters between 2000 and 2005 (Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency,
2009). Increased high school completion rates and investment in postsecondary
education along with increased outmigration have contributed to changing community
demographics including the age profile of fish harvesters and dwindling recruitment of
young people to the fishery (Dolan et al., 2005). Over 50% of the core licence holders in
the province were over the age of 50, and nearly 40% are over the age of 55
(Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board, 2008). In comparison, only 12% of
Level II fish harvesters, who are eligible to receive the transfer of a core licence, were
under the age of 40 (Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board, 2008). The
retention and recruitment of a skilled labour force is one of the key challenges facing
the fishery over the coming decade.
At the same time, many existing fishing enterprises are dealing with low prices as well as
declining catches and short fishing seasons. These three challenges were identified by all
the harvesters consulted during this project, as was the fourth challenge of uncertainty
about the state of various fish stocks. For example, the total allowable catch (TAC) for
Northern Gulf Cod has not been caught for the last several years in the Northern Gulf of
St Lawrence region (NAFO Regions 3Pn, 4RS). In 2009 a TAC of 7000 metric tonnes was
assigned which was reduced to 4000 metric tonnes for 2010 and 2011. The abundance
of spawning Northern Gulf Cod remains low (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2010). There
is also uncertainty about the crab stock within Bonne Bay and strong evidence of over-
fishing. The crab fishery within Bonne Bay was opened again for the 2011 season
following a two year voluntary closure due to concerns about the stock. While there
have been some signs of initial recovery since the closure, a study based out of the
Bonne Bay Marine Station found the recovery that has taken place has not been
extensive enough to allow the majority of the population to reach harvestable size
(Neville, 2011). There is some evidence that these changes in the fishery are affecting
the consumption of local seafood among Bonne Bay households. Results from a seafood
12
survey completed as part of this project indicate a downward trend in consumption of
most major fish and shellfish species over the past five years.
Alongside the changes taking place in the fishery, the tourism sector has changed
substantially in this region over the past two decades. Visitors to Gros Morne National
Park increased by 20% between 2006 and 2011 (Parks Canada, 2011). Across the
province, tourism generated direct employment for 12,730 people in 2006
(Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, 2011).
Specific statistics on tourism-related employment in the Bonne Bay area are not
available. Employment figures for retail sales and in food and beverage taken from the
Community Accounts were used to estimate tourism-related employment.
Approximately 16% of the population was employed in these occupations in 2005
(Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency, 2009). There was an increase of
approximately 35% between 2000 and 2005. Employment in these jobs is highly
seasonal; approximately 50% of people employed in retail sales and nearly 60% of those
employed in food and beverage worked between twelve and twenty weeks in those jobs
in 2005 in the province as a whole (Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency,
2009). Although the tourism sector is an important source of employment, like the
fishing industry changing demographics and a related dwindling supply of labour is a
challenge in the tourism sector across the province (Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, 2010).
While the fishery and tourism sectors continue to change, they depend on each other.
Some fishery family members work in the tourism sector. Many restaurants feature
local seafood as a main culinary attraction and this helps generate local jobs in seafood
processing and retail. Further, the fishery is a vital part of the culture and heritage that
tourists visiting the region want to experience. Local residents are important customers
for local restaurants, particularly those that stay open year-round. Nearly 40% of the
households that participated in the seafood survey said they eat out once a month or
more, and approximately 70% of households said it was likely or very likely that a
member of their household would order seafood when eating out. The mutual
dependence of these two sectors means a substantial decline in the local inshore fishery
could potentially generate problems for the tourism sector. In addition, potential
synergies between the two sectors have not been the focus of explicit policies and
13
programs so it is likely that these are under-developed resulting in missed economic
opportunities in the province and the Bonne Bay region in particular.
In the remainder of this report, we use the Bonne Bay area as a case study for
documenting the mutual dependencies between the two sectors and to look at ways to
promote stronger synergies in the future. We examine how the fisheries and tourism
sectors are currently working in the Bonne Bay region and put forward
recommendations for ways in which they could work more closely together to support
each other and the region. Specifically, we look at the opportunities and challenges for
developing culinary tourism, based on the provision of local seafood to restaurants, and
experiential tourism activities related to the fishery. While looking at the foundations
for increased collaboration among the fisheries and tourism sectors, we also recognize
that fisheries are a key part of the local food system in the Bonne Bay area and that
increased consumption of seafood by local people also has the potential to support the
fishing sector and the tourism sector, particularly during the off-seasons. Therefore, as
part of this project a seafood survey was distributed to local households to document
seafood consumption trends and patterns (what seafood they eat, where they get their
seafood and how they prepare it) and to develop recommendations to protect and
enhance the contribution of local seafood to food security in this area. While this work
is focused in the Bonne Bay area, the findings from this project are also relevant to
other regions of the province experiencing changes to the fisheries and tourism sectors
and looking for opportunities to diversify rural economies.
14
CHAPTER ONE: INTEGRATING FISHERIES AND TOURISM IN THE BONNE BAY AREA
Introduction
With partners from the fisheries and tourism sector, this project looks at how these
sectors are currently working together in the Bonne Bay region and identifies ways in
which they could work more closely together to support each other and the region.
Eight partners from the fisheries and tourism sectors in the Bonne Bay area collaborated
on this project including: Darrell Burden & Greg Kennedy, fish harvesters, Norris Point;
Glenn Samms, fish harvester, Norris Point; Ernie Decker and Lynn Halfyard, fish
harvesters, Rocky Harbour; John and Roxanne Decker, fish harvesters, Rocky Harbour;
Todd Wight, Ocean View Hotel and Restaurant, Rocky Harbour; Vince McCarthy, Sugar
Hill Inn, Norris Point; Tom and Doris Sheppard, Sheppard’s Bed and Breakfast, Trout
River; and Ken Thomas, Lighthouse Suites and Restaurant, Woody Point. A profile of
each partner and their business is provided below. Kristen spent several days with each
partner between April and June 2011. To broaden out the findings from these
internships, Kristen also carried out six key informant interviews with an eighth fish
harvester, four additional tourism operators, and one fish processor in the Bonne Bay
area.
This chapter, co-authored by Kristen and the project partners, presents the main results
from the internships and interviews. The results are organized according to several core
themes including seafood as a culinary attraction among tourists; the buying and selling
of seafood between the fisheries and tourism sectors; perspectives and ideas about
seafood marketing; and experiential fisheries-tourism activities. At the end of the
chapter, a summary of the recommendations for fisheries and tourism development is
provided.
Partner profiles
Following is a profile of each partner who collaborated on this project.
Fish Harvesters
Darrell Burden and Greg Kennedy, Norris Point
Darrell lives in Norris Point with his wife Dianne, son David, and dog Cassie. He has been
fishing all his life. He comes from a family with a long history in fishing. As he said,
“that’s all everybody in my family has ever done.” Darrell grew up fishing with his uncle.
15
In later years, a fishing license was transferred to him from a relative who fished in
Martin’s Point.
Darrell begins the fishing season in
Bonne Bay, fishing for crab out of the
wharf in Norris Point. His cousin Greg
Kennedy joined him crab fishing this
year. He then heads up the shore to
Martin’s Point, just north of Sally’s
Cove, to fish for lobster. Darrell has a
fish store in Martin’s Point that has
been in his family for as long as he can
remember. Greg also has a lobster
license and sets his traps in Bonne Bay.
After the crab and lobster seasons are over, Darrell joins other enterprises to fish
further up the coast for capelin, turbot, cod, mackerel and herring. During this time he
can be away for two weeks to a month at a time. During the summer food fishery,
Darrell and his wife Dianne go out in their boat together to catch cod and put some
away for the winter.
Ernest Decker and Lynn Halfyard, Rocky Harbour
Ernie has been fishing for over forty years. He grew up
fishing in Baker’s Brook, and returns there each season
to fish. Lynn Halfyard also began fishing when she was
young and has been fishing with Ernie for fifteen
years. Lynn refers to Baker’s Brook as Ernie’s “home
port” and said “when you’re fishing so long in a certain
area you know your ground.”
Lynn is a shareman in Ernie’s business with a Level
One helper’s license. They begin the season fishing for
crab departing from the wharf in Rocky Harbour.
When the crab fishery ends they go up the shore to
Baker’s Brook to fish lobster, herring, halibut,
16
lumpfish, mackerel, and cod. Ernie has a fishing cabin in Baker’s Brook along with a fish
store. In summers past Lynn has maintained a small garden at Baker’s Brook where she
grows onions, carrots, cabbage, turnips, and beets. They enjoy a diet with plenty of
fresh seafood in season. Lynn jokes that Ernie has “expensive tastes” because he loves
crab and lobster.
John and Roxanne Decker, Rocky Harbour
Baker’s Brook has been John’s home fishing port for
30 years. John’s father also fished out of Baker’s
Brooks and his enterprise was transferred to John.
John is Ernie Decker’s younger brother. Since 1991,
John and his wife Roxanne have been fishing
together. They fish for crab, lobster, cod, mackerel,
halibut, herring, and lumpfish. They maintain a fish
store in Baker’s Brook. In recent years lobster has become their main fishery. Two years
ago, when the price of lobster started to drop, Roxanne started working at a local
restaurant after finishing up lobster fishing with John in early July. She works at the
restaurant until the end of September. John and Roxanne have two children, including a
ten year old son who loves it in the boat and would like to fish like his father.
Glenn Samms, Norris Point
Glenn started fishing with his father in
Bonne Bay when he was twelve years old.
Later on, his father’s fishing enterprise
was transferred to him and Glenn now
fishes for groundfish, crab and lobster
departing from the wharf in Norris Point.
Glenn’s younger brother Dennis is also a
fish harvester, and they have fished for
crab together for three seasons.
Glenn’s family is from the Norris Point
area, including relatives who grew up in Gadd’s Harbour before Gros Morne National
Park was established. Glenn remembers the many meals of fresh and salt cod that were
a main part of his grandfather’s diet. Glenn continues to enjoy meals of fresh fish in
17
season and puts away some fish for his family for the winter. He lives in Norris Point
with his family, including a son and young daughter.
Tourism operators
Todd Wight, Ocean View Hotel and Restaurant, Rocky Harbour
This is Todd Wight’s fifth season as
Managing Partner of the Ocean View Hotel
and Restaurant in Rocky Harbour. The Ocean
View was originally established in 1972.
Todd came to the Ocean View with a
background in business and marketing.
The Ocean View Restaurant is a fine dining
establishment specializing in seafood. It is
the largest restaurant in the Bonne Bay area
serving around 10,000 guests a season. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner
from Mothers Day until early October and the Anchor Pub downstairs in the hotel is
open for Pub style dining from 3pm daily. The restaurant offers many different types of
seafood including halibut, cod, salmon, mussels, lobster, crab, and scallops. The
restaurant’s Head Chef is Red Seal certified and has six other cooks to assist her in the
kitchen. Seafood is prepared in the traditional Newfoundland way combined with some
new flavours and tastes. The restaurant also offers samples of items that guests may
never have tried before, such as cod tongues and scrunchions.
The dining room is decorated with items from the sea and boasts a beautiful ocean view
overlooking the harbour. A wine cellar is a recent addition to the dining room, allowing
guests to go into the cellar and select their own bottle of wine.
18
Tom and Doris Sheppard, Sheppard’s Bed and Breakfast, Trout River
Doris said it has always been her dream to have her own Bed & Breakfast. In 2009, with
the official opening of Sheppard’s Bed and Breakfast, Doris’ dream came true. Doris and
her husband Tom operate the Bed and Breakfast, which they built themselves on land
that belonged to Tom’s family.
Doris has been involved in tourism for many
years. She first started working in the tourism
sector in 1967 in Deer Lake. Thirteen years
ago, she returned to school and completed a
program in Hotel Management in Ottawa after
which time she became Dining Room Manager
of a hotel there. Tom has a background in
teaching. He spent his first year teaching in a
one-room schoolhouse in Lance aux Meadows
and subsequently taught high school for
twenty five years in Newfoundland.
The Bed & Breakfast features four guest bedrooms upstairs and one room on the first
floor. Their busy season starts in early May and continues until October although they
are open for bookings year-round. They had 600 guests stay with them last summer
from as far away as New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Iceland. Doris and Tom offer a
wide variety of choices for breakfast including pancakes, french toast, bacon and eggs,
and fish cakes.
Vince McCarthy, Sugar Hill Inn, Norris Point
The Sugar Hill Inn opened in 1992. Vince
McCarthy, the owner and operator of the
Inn came to Norris Point in 1985. The Inn
was originally built as a family home and
dental clinic. However, after spending time
in the area, the potential for a tourist
establishment became evident to him. He
began to develop a high-end inn and
19
restaurant, a type of tourist establishment that was not common in the Gros Morne
area at the time.
The Inn now features eleven guest rooms and a formal fifty person dining room that has
been open since 2007. The dining room is opening seasonally for dinner from May to
October and also provides breakfast for guests in the Inn, as well as boxed-lunches.
Seafood is a feature in the restaurant, with cod, halibut, salmon, scallops, shrimp, and
mussels among some of the regular menu items.
Vince does a lot of the food preparation himself with the support of another cook. He
explained that he “always had a passion for cooking.” He has also gone on numerous
wine tours throughout France and Italy and the restaurant features an extensive list of
wines that he has personally selected. The Inn also has several small gardens in which
fresh herbs, leeks, shallots, and lettuce are grown for the restaurant.
Ken Thomas, Lighthouse Suites and Restaurant
The Lighthouse in Woody Point consists of
suites overlooking the waterfront, a gift
shop, as well as the Lighthouse Restaurant.
The Lighthouse Restaurant was established
thirty years ago and Ken Thomas took over
the business four years ago.
The restaurant features an eat-in dining
room which is open from late May to early
October, along with a take-out that is open year-round. The restaurant employs six
women full-time from May to October. The Lighthouse has always been known as a
family-style restaurant. Since Ken took over the business, he has made a few changes to
the interior decoration, added a few new menu items, and has tried some different
ways of preparing seafood. The restaurant specializes in seafood, including cod, halibut,
salmon, and scallops and features an extensive wine list. The take-out is especially
popular among local residents and offers items such as chicken and chips, chicken
burgers, and fish and chips.
20
The Lighthouse has a small greenhouse and garden which guests enjoy. By the middle of
August, most of the vegetables in the restaurant are coming from the garden and
greenhouse including lettuce, carrots, beets, peas, beans, broccoli, celery, zucchini, and
tomatoes.
Seafood as a culinary tourism attraction
In recent years food has become an important part of the tourism experience. ‘Culinary
tourism’ is the name given to this type of tourism which is based around locally-
produced foods and food products prepared in both traditional and new ways (Everett,
20009). Culinary tourism involves people exploring foods new to them, and using food
to explore new cultures (Long, 2004).
Canada is made up many distinct food regions that are
important in terms of regional identity and local food
product availability (Hashimoto & Telfer, 2006). For
example, Quebec is known for its maple sugar. The
Prairies are often associated with fields of wheat or
Alberta Beef. In Newfoundland and Labrador, one of
the most well-known culinary attractions is seafood
which is featured prominently in provincial tourism
marketing. The official Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism website emphasizes
seafood as the main culinary attraction in the province, saying “known for our seafood
and traditional dishes, this place offers an exciting world of dining options…”
(Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, 2011,). Ties to a long-standing fishing culture are
used as a way of setting the province’s seafood apart from other regions.
The Bonne Bay region is in a good position to benefit from culinary tourism. A report
done for the Canadian Tourism Commission found that
the typical culinary tourist is highly educated and
generally earns upwards of $80,000 annually (Deneault,
2003 as cited in Everett, 2009). This target demographic
for culinary tourism is similar to that of the typical tourist
who comes to Gros Morne National Park as nearly 50% of
visitors in 2009 had a household income of over $90,000
(Parks Canada, 2010).
“That’s [seafood] what
people expect, they’re
coming to
Newfoundland.”
Tourism operator,
Bonne Bay.
“Cod, that’s what we
want, it’s unique to you
here.”
Tourist,
Bonne Bay area.
21
In the Bonne Bay area, the tourism operators consulted as a part of this project agree
that tourists are looking for seafood when they come to the region. A tourism operator
who provides accommodations in the area said, “Seafood’s really important, one of the
first things people ask when they come in is, ‘Is there any fresh seafood around?’”
Tourists that come to the Bonne Bay area place special value on eating local seafood. As
one tourist said, “Really to have lobster, it’s part of what attracted me.” She went on to
explain that she eats seafood in Ontario where she lives but that it has to be imported. A
woman working in a local restaurant remarked that “cod is king” among the tourists.
Another restaurant said that halibut is their biggest seller.
Restaurants recognize the importance of serving
the most fresh and local seafood available. The
three partner restaurants on this project all
emphasize fresh seafood, and it is advertised as
such on their menus. At Sheppards’ Bed &
Breakfast Doris sometimes makes her own fish
cakes, and they are an especially popular breakfast
item with guests. Many tourists ask questions
about the seafood being served, and in particular
they want to know where it is coming from. One
restaurateur described people as increasingly
concerned about where their food is coming from.
Eating seafood also serves as a way for tourists to
learn more about local cuisine and food traditions.
For example, many tourists haven’t heard of
scrunchions before, a local term for pork fat often
used for cooking fish and as a garnish for dishes such
as fish and brewis. One restaurant will bring small
servings of scrunchions to tables so people can
sample them. The restaurant also offers a single cod
tongue as a tasting to people interested in trying this
local delicacy. In the event that a guest has never
eaten a lobster, servers will help them tableside in
“We want authentic
Newfoundland seafood
and we want to cook it the
authentic Newfoundland
way…with a bit of fine
dining.”
Chef, Bonne Bay.
Doris Sheppard with vegetables she
grew in her garden. She sells some of
her produce to local restaurants.
22
opening their lobster. Another restaurant offers a sample serving of fish and brewis.
Restaurants have different ways of
preparing seafood although many feature
traditional ways of preparation in some
form. Some restaurants are family-style,
featuring mostly pan-fried fish along with
the traditional root vegetables such as
potatoes, carrots, and turnips. One family-
style restaurant has made a few changes in
recent years, with the owner introducing
some new vegetables and a few
modifications to food preparation.
Other restaurants focus more on fine dining, often blending traditional ways of
preparing seafood with new tastes. For example, one restaurant serves mussels with a
spicy marinara sauce, while another will offer salmon grilled, poached, of pan-fried with
a citrus ginger or sweet bourbon glaze.
In addition to eating seafood out at restaurants, tourists can also buy and cook their
own seafood. Harbour Seafoods, a fish processing plant in Rocky Harbour, has a retail
storefront where they sell seafood sourced from the west coast of the Island. It is very
popular with tourists and locals alike in the summer. Tourists staying in local cabins
purchase seafood to take back and cook, and
some buy it to take home with them. Tourists
of many different backgrounds and ethnicities
come to the store, resulting in a variety of
seafood tastes and preferences.
As well as seafood, many restaurants feature
other local foods that enhance the culinary
tourism experience. Several restaurants in the
area feature wild moose and caribou and one
restaurant serves lamb from Cow Head.
Raised beds provide the Sugar Hill Inn with
fresh herbs and greens later in the summer
The kitchen at the Ocean View Restaurant,
Rocky Harbour.
23
Another restaurateur mentioned an interest in creating a sampler tray of locally-
harvested wild mushrooms.
The Sugar Hill Inn and the Lighthouse Restaurant have small gardens that supply the
restaurants with fresh produce. At the Lighthouse Restaurant, nearly all the vegetables
used in the restaurant later in the summer and fall are coming from the garden
including lettuce, carrots, beets, peas, beans, broccoli, celery, and zucchini, and
tomatoes. At the Sugar Hill Inn, fresh herbs are grown in a garden on the back of the
property, along with leeks, shallots, and lettuce.
While individual restaurants are working towards creating culinary tourism experiences,
at a provincial level there is no food marketing body dedicated to culinary tourism. Such
a body could lend support to more local initiatives. For example, the province of Nova
Scotia has the provincial Taste of Nova Scotia food marketing association which
develops and promotes culinary tourism destinations across different regions of the
province. A resource in the province that can assist in culinary tourism development is
the Bonavista Institute for Cultural Tourism, which offers training for local tourism
suppliers to enhance the cuisine experiences for tourists.
The buying and selling of seafood between the fisheries and tourism sectors
Because of the importance of seafood to the tourism sector, one of the aims of this
project was to look at how seafood is being distributed between the fisheries and
tourism sectors. This included looking at where restaurants are sourcing their seafood,
what types of seafood they are buying, as well as where fish harvesters are selling their
catches.
We found that restaurants focus on buying fresh and local seafood as much as possible.
However, many said it is a challenge to get a consistent supply of fresh and local seafood
with the quality and traceability they would like. Local fish processing plants are the
main source of seafood for restaurants in the area.
Fish harvesters are mainly selling their catches to local fish processing plants. The fish
harvesters described similar challenges facing their businesses, mainly declining catch
rates and low prices. Because of provincial regulations under the Fish Inspection Act fish
24
harvesters have to sell to a licensed buyer or fish processor and are not allowed to sell
directly to customers, such as restaurants.
Restaurants and buying seafood
The most common types of seafood purchased by the restaurants consulted as a part of
this project are cod, halibut, salmon, mackerel, scallops, shrimp, mussels, lobster, and
crab.
Restaurants are mainly sourcing seafood from fish processing plants in the Bonne Bay
area. In particular, Harbour Seafoods in Rocky Harbour is the largest plant in the area
and supplies restaurants up and down the coast. 3Ts fish plant in Woody Point also sells
some seafood to restaurants. Other sources
for seafood include resellers who come into
the area with seafood harvested elsewhere
on the coast, such as Port aux Port scallops,
as well as Allen’s Fisheries and Dominion in
Corner Brook. Early in the tourism season in
May and June before most local fisheries are
open restaurants purchase seafood products
from larger distributors such as Sysco and
Atlantic Grocers.
Restaurant operators expressed a clear
preference to buy seafood that is local and fresh.
Buying seafood from large food distributors is not a preferred way of sourcing seafood
because it is usually frozen and imported from other places as in the case of Icelandic
cod. To get around this challenge, one restaurant buys flash-frozen cod from Harbour
Seafoods before the plant closes and keeps the cod in their freezer to have available for
the winter and spring.
For the most part, seafood that is being bought in season from local fish processing
plants is fresh. However, even in this case, some types of seafood are bought frozen. For
example, one restaurant operator explained that because the season for halibut is very
short (20 hours in 2011), the local fish plant purchases a large quantity at one time and
has to freeze some of it. The same restaurant operator noted they have difficulty getting
Lobsters stored at a local fish processing
plant.
25
fresh cod tongues, and most often have to purchase them frozen. A different restaurant
operator said that North Atlantic shrimp can only be purchased frozen from the fish
plant. Many restaurant operators said that freezing seafood takes the value out it and
that getting fresh local product for the entire tourism season would be ideal.
Purchasing seafood from the local fish
processing plants was important to restaurant
operators because the seafood is being
sourced locally from the west coast of the
island. However, more specific details such as
when, where, and how the seafood was caught
are not necessarily available. Many restaurant
operators said they would like greater
traceability of seafood they are serving so that
they can tell their guests about when the
seafood was caught, along with who caught it
and how it was handled. Traceability was also a
concern raised by some fish harvesters as many do not know where their catch goes
after it leaves the processing plant. One harvester said he would like to see a lobster
tracked from harvesters through to the final market, including the price it is sold for
along the way.
In the Burgeo and Harbour Breton regions of the province, this is starting to happen
through the ThisFIsh pilot project run by the FFAW in collaboration with the Canadian
Council of Professional Fish Harvesters and EcoTrust Canada (www.thisfish.ca).
Harvesters are provided with orange tags that track the lobster from ocean to plate.
Along the way, others in the supply chain can upload details about the lobster’s
handling and price. When the customer buys the lobster, they can look up the tag’s
unique code online to find out when, where, and how the lobster was caught and by
whom. Fish harvesters can also log on to track their lobster’s journey. While providing
customers with more information, the project can also provide harvesters and other
seafood businesses with customer feedback and open up new opportunities for seafood
branding.
A lobster being tracked with a ThisFish
tag. Photo Credit: www.thisfish.info
26
While restaurants showed a strong preference for sourcing most types of seafood
locally, one exception is shrimp. Many restaurants purchase jumbo Pacific shrimp from a
food distributor because they believe that these shrimp can be presented better on a
plate than the smaller North Atlantic shrimp. They will sometimes buy some North
Atlantic shrimp for dishes such as salads and chowders. One restaurant in the area that
uses only North Atlantic shrimp describes them on the menu as “tiny, North Atlantic
shrimp,” recognizing that most people are used to eating large Pacific shrimp.
In terms of quality, restaurant operators’ opinions varied about the extent to which they
are satisfied with the quality of the seafood they purchase. Some said they are generally
satisfied, explaining that cod was a fairly consistent quality product from the local fish
plant. However, others were less satisfied, describing the quality as “variable” or not as
fresh as they would like. At least one restaurant has worked out a way of getting
seafood in the quality and form they want. For a small discount in price one local
processing plant will let the restaurant operator carve up halibut and salmon steaks in
the plant so that they can be done to the restaurant’s preference.
Some restaurants have also developed ways to work with the fishing seasons and local
product availability. For example, many restaurants have a catch of the day or seafood
special on their menu that changes with local availability. Salmon is more regularly on
menus because it is a farmed product and consistently available. A local fish plant has
also worked with at least one restaurant in the area to extend the availability of fresh
lobster. The processing plant will keep a small number of lobster in the plant in salt-
water pens after the lobster fishery has closed, allowing the restaurant to continue to
access fresh lobsters for several weeks beyond the regular lobster season.
Fish harvesters, processors and selling seafood
Restaurants are primarily sourcing seafood from
local fish processing plants. Conversely, fish
harvesters are mainly selling their catches to fish
plants in the local area. Three of the fish harvesters
involved in this project are fishing for lobster, crab
and groundfish. One of the harvesters only fishes
for lobster and crab. Harvesters referred to selling
to buyers “up and down the shore” depending Greg Kennedy fishing for crab with
Darrell Burden.
27
upon who was offering the better price. However, prices are usually fairly close between
licensed buyers.
Many harvesters sell to Harbour Seafoods in Rocky Harbour, the largest fish processing
plant in the region which buys from over 260 individual fish harvesters along the west
coast. The plant purchases capelin, cod, halibut, mackerel, lumpfish, crab, lobster,
turbot, scallops, whelks, and farmed salmon. The plant processes most of these species,
except for lobster which they sell live and crab which they send to another plant for
processing. However, the plant is required to clean and sort everything they buy,
including bait, before it can be sold.
All the fish harvesters consulted as a part of this project said that declining catch rates
and short seasons combined with low prices are the three main challenges facing their
businesses. For example, harvesters are allowed to catch three thousand pounds of cod
each week during the season which is open in July and starts up again in September.
Most noted that they haven’t been able to land that much in several years. Some
expressed concern about the state of the cod stocks in the Gulf, with one harvester
describing a “downturn” in recent years and noting “they’re not big fish we’re catching.”
For halibut, small catches are mostly related to the length of the fishing season which
was very short this year at only twenty hours long. One harvester explained that much
of the total quota for halibut has been allocated to Quebec, which has multiple openings
for the fishery. While the quota here is small, some harvesters described a relative
abundance of halibut compared to other species. Another harvester also described a
decline in the number of lumpfish, getting only approximately 40-50 pounds of lump roe
last year.
With the collapse of the groundfish stocks
in the 1990s and closure of the
commercial salmon fishery, lobster and
crab have become the main fisheries for
many harvesters in the area. A fish plant
in the area usually purchases around
400,000 pounds of lobster and 80,000
pounds of crab from the west coast each
Ernie Decker and Lynn Halfyard fishing for
lobster.
28
season. This season was the first time in two years that harvesters have caught crab in
the Bonne Bay area because of a voluntary moratorium in place for the last two
seasons. Some harvesters were concerned that the closure wasn’t long enough to allow
the crab to recover.
Unlike crab, lobster is a competitive fishery with no individual quota. Harvesters were
allowed to put out 250 pots this season, which ran from early May to early July. The
beginning of this season’s lobster fishery was marked by a price dispute between some
processing companies and an independent price-setting panel. It was resolved when the
union and the Seafood Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPONL) agreed on a
price of $3.65/lb. The price was reviewed every week until the end of the season. During
this price dispute, fish harvesters continued to catch lobsters and keep them in the
water in crates. However, one harvester explained that this wasn’t ideal because bad
weather conditions could potentially damage the crates.
All the harvesters described a drop in the
price of lobster over the last several years,
reaching a low about two years ago around
$3/lb. Prior to the last two years, harvesters
said they received between $5 and $6/lb.
One harvester described the present lobster
price as “terrible,” noting that other costs,
such as gas, have been going up. Some
harvesters expressed concern about the
prices for other species as well, such as cod
and mackerel, for which they are paid approximately fifty cents and twenty cents per
pound respectively. At these prices, one harvester explained “you have to catch a lot to
make money.” Harvesters also described increasing costs related to gas, monitoring and
license fees, and bait.
Crab and halibut were two fisheries for which some harvesters were more satisfied with
the price. Harvesters were paid around $2.50/lb for crab this season, an increase from
last year’s prices. Harvesters were paid around $6/lb this year for halibut, a fairly
substantial increase over last year’s price of approximately $3.50/lb. However,
harvesters sometimes don’t know the price they will be paid when they start fishing.
Glenn Samms with a lobster he caught.
29
One harvester explained, “it’s hard, sometimes you don’t know [price] until you get
ashore”.
Nonetheless, while low prices are a challenge for fish harvesters, they appreciate having
a reliable local market where they can sell their catches from year to year. Further, it is
convenient for them to be able to sell all their catches to one, or very few, buyers.
Selling to a fish processing plant also gives them access to workers compensation and
eligibility for Employment Insurance.
Although harvesters are mainly selling their catches to fish processing plants, they are
allowed to keep some of their catch for personal use after it has been monitored
dockside. For many types of seafood, and especially cod, harvesters put aside enough
for themselves for the winter. However, for the more commercially valuable crab and
lobster, some harvesters described eating fewer meals of these in order to sell more to
the processing plant to earn an income and qualify for Employment Insurance.
In terms of seafood pricing, a fish processor in the
region offered a different perspective. They
explained that the price for which they sell their
seafood is set by the market and described a “limit”
to how much seafood can be sold for. From this
perspective, they described paying a “high price for
harvesting now.” Approximately 40% of the
seafood from this processing plant is sold within Canada, including much of this within
the Bonne Bay area, and the remaining 60% is exported outside the country. The
processing plant incurs costs for employee wages, workers’ compensation, processing
license fees, machinery, and electricity. Lower quotas for many fisheries are impacting
both harvesters and processors. A fish processing plant explained that they don’t have
large volumes of any species to sell because the quotas have been cut.
Lastly, ensuring quality is an important part of selling seafood for both harvesters and
processors. Some harvesters emphasized taking care to bring in a quality product. Fish
processing plants grade fish when it arrives at the plant based upon size, texture, and
freshness and fish harvesters are paid according to the grade of the fish. However, one
“If you’re taking care, taking
time to bring in a good
product, you want to see a
good price for it.” Fish harvester, Bonne Bay.
30
harvester believed they are not always rewarded sufficiently in terms of price for the
quality of product they bring in.
Another harvester explained how the type of gear used can affect seafood quality. Since
the cod moratorium, hook and line or gillnets are used to fish for cod instead of traps.
However, he said cod caught in a trap is “100% fresher” because the fish is still alive
when the trap is brought in.
In terms of ensuring quality, a local fish processing plant explained that “everything has
a process.” Fish usually arrives at the plant on ice, and the plant tries to make sure the
fish is processed as quickly as possible so that it can be packed and stored again
between the proper temperature of zero and four degrees Celsius.
Perspectives and ideas for seafood marketing
In addition to looking at how the tourism and fisheries sectors are presently buying and
selling seafood, as described above, a related aim of the project was to understand fish
harvesters’, fish processors’, and tourism operators’ perspectives and ideas about other
ways of marketing seafood that could promote synergies between the two sectors. This
section considers direct marketing; new collaborative arrangements among harvesters,
processors, and buyers; and specialty seafood products.
Direct marketing of seafood
Presently, due to provincial regulations under the Fish Inspection Act, restaurants have
to source their seafood from licensed buyers and fish processing plants and are not able
to purchase directly from harvesters. Nonetheless, most of the tourism operators that
were consulted expressed a desire to buy seafood in a different way. Most often, this
focused on being able to buy directly from fish harvesters.
In direct marketing the attention is focused on allowing
harvesters to sell further up the supply chain, to
customers such as restaurants or individuals, rather than
to a buyer or processor. This allows producers to capture
more economic value while allowing customers a direct
connection with food producers. Alternative direct
markets for seafood are not meant to replace existing
“Each product you put
on your menu has a story
to tell behind it.” Tourism operator,
Bonne Bay.
31
markets that harvesters already have for their catch (such as fish processing plants), but
are one additional strategy that may let fish harvesters capture more value for a portion
of their catch. A study about seafood direct marketing funded by the Department of
Fisheries in Nova Scotia found that direct marketing may provide benefits for fish
harvesters and customers (Anchor Consulting, 2010). For harvesters, this included
greater control over the marketing of seafood and higher prices, and for customers,
better access to quality, local seafood.
Tourism operators gave several reasons for wanting to be able to buy directly from fish
harvesters. These included getting a fresher and better quality product in more
consistent supply, a better price for both harvesters and restaurant buyers, and knowing
more about where the seafood is coming from and how it was harvested.
In terms of quality, many restaurant operators thought that a product purchased
directly from harvesters would be fresher and thus better quality. As one restaurant
operator said, ideally we would “get it [fish] on the day it’s caught.” While some
restaurants are very satisfied with the quality of the product from the plant, other
suggested it was “variable” and they aren’t always able to get the fish in the form they
prefer. Some restaurant owners have found that quality varies across different species.
One restaurateur believes that filleting machines in local plants do not do as nice a job
as hand filleting.
A better price for both harvesters and tourism operators came up several times as a
potential advantage to direct marketing. Because of the high tourist demand for
seafood, some restaurants are able to ask a high price for a seafood dinner and said
they would be able to pay a high price to harvesters directly. Others noted that buying
seafood directly would likely cost them less than buying at a fish plant, while still
resulting in a price benefit to harvesters.
Lastly, many tourism operators spoke about wanting to attach a story to the seafood
they serve. This requires knowing where it's coming from all the way from ocean to
plate. As one tourism operator said, “Each product you put on your menu has a story to
tell behind it.” Providing this traceability and telling a story from ocean to plate can
work well with direct marketing which directly connects fish harvesters with restaurant
buyers.
32
Like tourism operators, some fish harvesters saw potential for direct marketing to
provide restaurants with a fresher quality product while allowing them to capture more
value for a part of their catch. However, fish harvesters also described some challenges
to direct marketing.
Some of these challenges may be considered logistical in nature. For example, having to
sell to more than one buyer can be more difficult. Having a central location (e.g. one fish
plant) at which to sell can be more convenient and cut down on expenses and time for
fish harvesters. There may also be a risk for some fish harvesters in pursuing new
markets in case existing markets for their
catch are jeopardized. Some harvesters also
said it would likely take a lot of time and
effort to get the changes in place that would
be needed to make direct marketing possible.
Eligibility for Employment Insurance is based
on harvesters selling to a licensed buyer or
fish processing plant. One harvester
explained “quotas have been cut so much, we
need all we can get to processors” in order to
quality for Employment Insurance.
In addition to these logistical challenges, some expressed concern about supply and
demand for seafood in local markets. One restaurant operator suggested that there are
not enough fish harvesters in the area in order to make direct marketing successful. For
this restaurant, which requires large volumes of fish, sourcing from a central location
that brings in fish from up and down the coast may be more reliable. On the other hand,
one fish harvester was concerned that the volume of fish being brought in by boats in
the area would be too much for local demand. He was uncertain about how much of the
catch could be sold locally. Researching the market demand for local seafood as well as
understanding the volumes of different species being caught would be an important
step before establishing any direct local markets. One fish harvester also suggested that
many residents living in the area are used to buying from the fish plants. Consumer
education and awareness about new markets for seafood should go along with any
direct marketing efforts.
Crab being weighed at the wharf in
Norris Point.
33
Another consideration with direct marketing relates to health and safety. A Chef
described how buying seafood at the fish plant provides assurance that the products
they are serving have met current health and safety regulations. She explained, “I know
it’s clean, inspected, and the food is fresh.”
Lastly, there are regulatory barriers within the province to the direct marketing of
seafood. Presently, provincial regulations (under the Fish Inspection Act) do not allow
fish harvesters to sell directly to anyone except a licensed buyer or processor
(Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2008). This
means that harvesters are not allowed to sell directly to restaurants, retail stores or
individual customers.
New types of arrangements among harvesters, processors, and buyers
While many tourism operators spoke about wanting to be able buy seafood directly
from harvesters, many also have a positive working relationship with the main fish plant
in the area that serves as their primary seafood supplier. Similarly, harvesters appreciate
having a fish processing plant as a reliable market for their catches each year. Harbour
Seafoods in Rocky Harbour has in place strong working connections with fish harvesters
and restaurants along the west coast. Accordingly there are other potential ways of
marketing seafood that are not direct per se but rather would be based on new
arrangements among harvesters, fish processors, and buyers.
One restaurant operator proposed a situation whereby a fish plant could stay open
longer to act as a buyer for a limited number of fish harvesters in order to extend the
season for some species. They suggested that a select number of harvesters could fish
later in the season, take their catches to the plant, which could sell to the restaurants.
The quantity wouldn’t be enough to keep the plant fully open, but could allow for longer
availability of fresh product to restaurants. In this case, the fishing seasons as set
federally by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans would have to be considered.
Another restaurant operator suggested that restaurants should work with fish
processing plants to tell them what types of seafood they want to buy and in what form.
However, if the desired seafood product(s) is not available or is not available in the
quality desired, restaurant operators could have the option of sourcing directly from a
fish harvester. They suggested this sort of approach would place responsibility on the
34
fish processing plant to maintain a consistent supply of quality and fresh seafood
products.
Lastly, there may be an opportunity for a fish
processing plant to facilitate a more direct
connection between fish harvesters and restaurant
operators. A processing plant could work with a
group of fish harvesters to provide seafood to select
restaurants. By working with a small group of
harvesters and a small quantity of product, a fish
processing plant may be able to tell a restaurant who
caught the fish as well as when it was caught and
how it was handled. The product could potentially
be sold for a higher price to restaurants that are
looking for improved freshness and traceability.
There are some fine dining restaurants in the area
that can pay a premium price for seafood. One
restaurant operator involved in fine dining noted
that whatever price they pay for seafood they can sell it for twice the price in the
restaurant.
Specialty seafood products
Restaurant operators were asked about any seafood products they would like to sell but
presently cannot access. They listed a number of specialty products they would like to
get, including types of seafood that aren’t harvested in large quantities or products that
require some value-added processing.
For example, one restaurant operator expressed an interest in sea urchins, explaining
that at one time people used to dive for them in the area. This restaurant operator also
would like to get certain parts of the cod, such as the sacks and roe, which he described
as a delicacy but which he has never found commercially available. One Chef said she
would like to get fresh calamari as presently she can only get it in frozen form. Another
restaurant operator said he would be potentially interested in doing something with
pickled herring, similar to Solomon Gundy in Nova Scotia, pickled herring served with
slices of onion and crackers.
Darrell Burden’s dog Cassie with
the lobster traps at Martin’s Point.
35
Many restaurants already buy salt cod from the local fish processing plant to use in
items such as fish cakes. A local processing plant also smokes salmon, capelin, mackerel,
and kippers as well as processing lump roe. However, in terms of value-added products,
a processor in the area pointed out that a fresh seafood product often has the most
value. They suggested that value-added, in terms of additional processing or adding
preservatives like salt, is not necessarily a better quality product.
Fish harvesters were similarly asked to
describe any species they thought are
presently underutilized for which there could
be a market. Two species listed by harvesters
were whelks (sea snails) and blackback, or
winter flounder, which one harvester said is
around in abundance but is not caught
commercially. Some harvesters also use squid
as bait. However, it could be sold fresh to
restaurants for a better price, as one
restaurant operator noted they would like to
get fresh squid but have had difficulty sourcing
it.
Any specialty products would not be needed in large quantities and could be specially
harvested or processed in small numbers and sold to restaurants and tourists for a price
premium that could be passed back to the fish processor and harvesters. Developing
specialty products that may capture a premium price makes sense at a time when
catches for some main fisheries are getting smaller and both harvesters and processors
are dealing with smaller volumes of seafood. Bringing together fish harvesters,
processors, and tourism operators to discuss the potential for specialty products, such
as what underutilized species could be harvested, what the capacity is for value-added
processing, and what tourism operators think would sell well, would be a first step in
developing specialty seafood products.
John Decker’s and Ernie’s Decker’s
boats moored at Baker’s Brook.
36
Experiential fisheries-tourism activities
The culinary attraction of seafood is linked to
tourists’ interest in the fishing culture of the
region. Fishing culture is an important part of what
attracts tourists to the region. For example, a Bed
and Breakfast operator explained that while the
fishery isn’t directly important to their business in
the way of seafood products, “people who come
here, they love going down to the wharf and
chatting with the fishermen when they come in.”
Fish harvesters similarly described the interest that tourists have in their work, often
stopping to ask questions and take pictures. One fish harvester said that tourists stop
and watch him from the wharf when he is hauling lobster, “Just to see the lobster trap
coming in, and the way it’s done.”
Experiences, such as these, are becoming more and
more of a focus in tourism efforts in Canada and
beyond. For example, the Canadian Tourism
Commission is becoming more and more
interested in experiential tourism. In 2008, they
developed a toolkit for small and medium-sized
tourism businesses to help them turn their
products into memorable experiences for tourists.
The importance of experiential tourism is also being recognized in Newfoundland and
Labrador. A 2004 study commissioned by the Department of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation to come up with a tourism product development strategy emphasized the
need for the tourism industry to “focus on experiences first” (Economic Planning Group
of Canada, 2004, p.89). It noted that converting tourism products into experiences may
be a main challenge for tourism operators, but that by adding value to what they
already have, tourism operators may be able to create meaningful experiences without
having to put in a lot more capital investment (Davar, 2010). Locally, one tourism
operator in the Bonne Bay region referred to experiences as “talking points” about their
trip. In 2010, the Gros Morne Cooperating Association organized an experiential
“People who come here
they love going down to the
wharf and chatting with the
fishermen when they
come in.” Tourism operator, Bonne Bay.
Experiential tourism may
allow tourists to “not just
take pictures, but be actively
engaged with the
community.” Tourism operator, Bonne Bay.
37
fisheries tourism product for a party of European visitors. It was a very successful
initiative and the tour operators would like to access it on an ongoing basis, but it
doesn’t currently exist as a market-ready product (Colleen Kennedy, personal
communication, 2010).
Experiential fisheries-tourism activities may allow
tourists to the Bonne Bay area to experience the
fishing culture and heritage of the region. At the same
time, such activities may provide fish harvesters with
alternative economic opportunities for ensuring the
viability of their fishing enterprises. Boat tours, fresh
fish markets, and fishing demonstrations were
identified during the internship and interviews as
potential experiential activities.
Boat tours led by fish harvesters were mentioned most often as a potential experiential
tourism activity. Tourism operators and fish harvesters agreed that it would be a
memorable experience for tourists to participate in a boat tour led by a fish harvester
that could take them on the water, demonstrate how they fish, and potentially bring
back some seafood. One harvester expressed an interest in taking tourists out to catch
and release fish.
There could also be a role for restaurants in the tour in terms of preparing fish caught
on the tour.
However, there are some challenges to
developing boat tours, including insurance,
boat size, and fishery openings and closures.
Insurance was a frequent concern that was
raised by fish harvesters, as most don’t have
the liability insurance to take tourists on their
boat. Secondly, infrastructure in terms of boat
capacity may also be a challenge. Most inshore
harvesters have open motor boats that are
around 20-26 feet in length. They cannot fit
many people at one time on their boat and the
Fishing demonstrations at local wharves,
such as the wharf in Rocky Harbour
shown here, were identified as a
potential experiential tourism activity.
“It would be ideal to have
a boat tour. People can
catch it, bring it back and
we can prepare it.” Tourism operator,
Bonne Bay.
38
boats don’t offer much protection from the weather. Lastly, if any fish were to be
caught on the tour, the openings and closures for each species would have to
correspond with the times at which tours are offered. One harvester suggested that
depending on the season, there may not be any fish to catch. Tourists could also
potentially be taken out as a part of the recreational cod fishery, although this season is
relatively short at about three weeks in the summer.
As well as boat tours, a tour of local fish processing plants was raised by one tourism
operator as a possible experiential attraction. A local fish processing plant wasn’t sure if
the processing for most species would be appealing for people to see. However, they
did suggest that the processing of lump roe, which is laid out on a screen and then put
into a barrel with brine, could make for an attractive tour and demonstration.
In addition to tours, fishing demonstrations were mentioned as a potential experiential
attraction. One tourism operator suggested that harvesters could do demonstrations on
local wharves about how to clean, fillet, and prepare fish so that people “can learn how
it’s done.” Many harvesters maintain their own fishing infrastructure, such as fish stores
and cabins that could be used as potential demonstration sites. Parks Canada maintains
a fishing exhibit at Broom Point, featuring the old fishing premises used by the Mudge
family. Local interpreters offer tours of the site.
Lastly, some tourism operators suggested that fresh fish markets at which customers
could engage directly with harvesters could be
important experiential attractions. One tourism
operator noted that the aquarium at the Bonne Bay
Marine Station is a good attraction and that a small
fish market to accompany the aquarium could be a
further draw.
An overall challenge to implementing experiential
fisheries-tourism activities is developing activities to fit
with the regular fishing season. Fish harvesters are
already busy for most of the summer and fall with
commercial fishing. A way around this problem was
proposed by a pilot project in the Gaspé region of
Darrell Burden’s fish store in
Martin’s Point.
39
Quebec that involves lobster harvesters taking tourists on a fishing boat to catch some
seafood. Harvesters will place a certain number of lobsters in a pound during their
regular season and release these when they begin the tourism project. They will then be
allowed to catch the same number of lobsters in the tourism fishery as they release
from the pound.2
To encourage further thinking about experiential fisheries-tourism activities that could
be developed in the Bonne Bay area, some examples of such activities that have been
implemented in other places are described in Chapter Three.
Recommendations for fisheries and tourism development
This chapter has identified potential opportunities and challenges for the fisheries and
tourism sectors to work together more intensively to increase consumption of local
seafood among tourists and to provide experiential fisheries activities as a way of
promoting both sectors.
Based on the findings from the project a set of recommendations for fisheries and
tourism development in the Bonne Bay area were identified. These recommendations,
presented below, are organized around the following themes: seafood and culinary
tourism and fisheries and experiential tourism.
Seafood and culinary tourism
• There is a need to develop a more consistent supply of fresh, local, and traceable
seafood for restaurants.
• Emerging initiatives, such as the ThisFish pilot project, may improve traceability
of seafood to the tourism sector while providing branding advantages to
harvesters and other seafood business.
• There is a large fish plant in the area that has in place strong working
relationships with restaurant owners and fish harvesters. These connections
could be expanded through experiments with new types of marketing
arrangements among harvesters, processors, and restaurant buyers.
• As catches for some commercial species decline there is an opportunity to
develop specialty seafood products that can be harvested or processed in small
2 For more details on this project see the CURRA website at:
http://www.curra.ca/documents/links_Gaspe_fisheries-tourism_pilot_project_presentation.pdf
40
quantities and sold to the tourism sector. Fish harvesters, processors, and
tourism operators should be brought together to discuss currently underutilized
species, the capacity for value-added processing, and what products may sell
well to restaurants and tourists.
• Direct marketing to restaurants, as well as local people, could allow harvesters to
capture more value for a portion of their catch and could have benefits for the
restaurant sector. Direct marketing should be seen as one additional strategy, in
combination with other initiatives such as value-added products and experiential
tourism, to diversify economic options for fish harvesters.
• There is a need for more research to look at the supply and demand for seafood
in local markets (including what types of seafood tourists and residents prefer
and how much they would pay) along with types and volumes of species being
harvested. This could be used to inform the development of any new local
seafood markets or products.
Fisheries and experiential tourism:
• Experiential tourism activities need to be developed in a form that achieves the
best fit between the tourism and fishing seasons. Experiential tourism activities
should be seen as an additional strategy for diversifying economic opportunities
for fishing enterprises but their success may require changing some fisheries
regulations
• There are examples of experiential fisheries-tourism activities from other places
that can be used as starting points for developing a pilot project in this region.
Some examples are provided in Chapter Three of this report.
• In developing experiential activities, identifying and working with relevant
regulatory authorities, such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans,
Transport Canada, and the provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture,
will be key to addressing challenges related to infrastructure, insurance, safety,
fishing seasons and direct sale of fish.
• A starting point for identifying experiential attractions could be to develop an
inventory of existing fishing infrastructure in the region. For example, many
harvesters already maintain fishing stores, stages and cabins which could serve
as sites for experiential activities such as fishing tours or fish preparation
demonstrations and meals without a lot of added capital investment.
41
• Skills training opportunities for fish harvesters in areas such as communications
and product promotion could provide new knowledge to work with their
professional fishing know-how.
• Organisational capacity to undertake culinary tourism and experiential tourism
initiatives could be strengthened through the establishment of a body such as a
cooperative that would bring together interested stakeholders including fish
harvesters and tourism operators.
42
CHAPTER TWO: FISHERIES AND FOOD SECURITY
Food security- an introduction
While seafood is an important culinary attraction for tourists, fisheries are also an
important part of the local food system for people living in the Bonne Bay area. Fish,
and in particular cod, is a traditional food source in Newfoundland and Labrador. By
contributing to local diets and livelihoods, fisheries are an important part of the food
security of communities in this region. This chapter presents the findings from a seafood
survey distributed to households in the Bonne Bay area in the spring of 2011 along with
some recommendations for strengthening the contribution of fisheries to food security
and local food systems.
Food security is a complex concept that has been understood differently over time and
can be looked at from the individual, household, community, and global levels. The
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's definition of food security is the
most commonly used definition. It describes food security as existing “when all people,
at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to
meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO,
1996). More recent approaches to food security focus on local-level participation and a
community's ability to make decisions about food policy and practice. Over the last
decade the idea of community food security has gained momentum. Community food
security emphasizes long-term, broad-based approaches and the development of local
or community-based food systems to meet food security goals (Hamm & Bellows, 2003;
McCullum, 2005; Dietitians of Canada, 2007; Winne, 2003). Community food security is
generally understood as a “condition in which all community residents obtain a safe,
culturally appropriate, nutritionally sound diet through an economically and
environmentally sustainable food system that maximizes community self-reliance, social
justice, and democratic decision making” (Hamm and Bellows, 2003, p. 37).
Newfoundland is an island in a remote province with a somewhat harsh climate. In this
context, it can be challenging to ensure a secure and reliable supply of food. Studies
show that rural and remote regions usually have higher food prices, poorer availability
of fresh fruits and vegetables, and poorer accessibility to food stores especially for
households without a vehicle (e.g. Lawn & Hill, 1998; Nova Scotia Participatory Food
43
Security Projects, 2009; Pouliot & Hamelin, 2009; Travers et al., 1997). A food costing
study led by the Dietitians of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2003 found that many
families with low incomes would be unable to buy sufficient, nutritious food (Ewtushik,
2003). Newfoundland and Labrador also has the highest per capita food bank use in the
country (Food Banks Canada, 2009), along with the highest rates of some diet-related
chronic diseases including diabetes and obestiy (Statistics Canada, 2006; Tjepkema,
2008). At the same time many small food producers, including fishers and farmers, are
struggling to maintain economically viable operations in the province.
The role of fisheries in food security
Fisheries can contribute directly to food security
through the supply of fish itself for subsistence and
they can contribute indirectly by generating
earnings that allow for the purchase of food (FAO,
2005). Globally, fish is an important food source. It
provides about 20% of the protein intake for over a
billion people and is an important protein source for
people in many other countries (FAO, 2009). About
half of all the fish caught for human consumption
comes from small-scale fisheries, underlying their importance for the world fish supply
(FAO, 2005). Unlike catches from industrial fisheries which tend to be used more for
animal feed and other products and not for direct human consumption, nearly all the
fish from small- scale fisheries is used for food (FAO, 2005). Around the world, total
employment in the fishing sector, including fishing dependents is close to half a billion
people (FAO, 2009). Most research about food security and fisheries has focused on
developing nations, which have the greatest number of the world’s small-scale fishers.
Many of these small-scale fishers live in communities characterized by poverty and food
insecurity. Research in these countries has shown that small-scale fisheries play a vital
role in food security and livelihoods.
Within Canada and other developed countries, relatively little food security research has
focused on fisheries. Instead, most food security literature has emphasized the role of
small-scale family farms in local economies and sustainable food systems (e.g. see
Feenstra, 2002). In Canada’s coastal regions, fisheries are directly important to food
security as a local food source and as a source of employment in fish harvesting and
Split and dried cod.
44
processing. Traditionally in this province, fisheries
were a part of an annual round of activities in
coastal communities that combined fishing for sale
and subsistence with gardening, hunting, and
woodcutting. Beyond coastal regions, seafood is an
important part of the diet of Canadians. Fish and
shellfish have received attention in recent years as
an important part of a healthy diet because they
provide high-quality protein, vitamins, and essential
fatty acids (Mahaffey, Clickner, & Jeffries, 2008). The Canada Food Guide encourages
Canadians to eat two food guide servings of fish each week (Health Canada, 2008).
Canadians are estimated to eat 23 kilograms of seafood per person each year (Fisheries
and Oceans Canada, 2006). In comparison, Canadians eat only 16 kg of bovine meat
each year although pork and chicken/turkey rank higher at 27 kilograms and 34
kilograms respectively (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2006). While per capita seafood
consumption in Canada is not as high as in some other fish-eating nations such as
Iceland, where per capita consumption of seafood is among the highest in the world at
approximately 91kgs, it is still not insignificant. It is difficult to know if per capita seafood
consumption in Newfoundland and Labrador differs from the national average because
provincial data on per capita seafood consumption are not collected (Stephanie Lewis,
personal communication, August 4, 2011).
Recently, fisheries have received some attention within the province and the country for
the contributions they make to food security. The Eating Healthier in Newfoundland and
Labrador: Provincial food and nutrition framework and action plan promotes the
development and marketing of local products from fisheries and agriculture that
support healthy eating practices. The plan recognizes that the availability of safe, quality
food is imperative to healthy eating and food security and that this depends on
developing sustainable food and fishing systems (Government of Newfoundland and
Labrador, 2006). The development of sustainable fishing systems and the rebuilding of
fish chains from ocean to plate is a critical part of maintaining fisheries contributions to
food (Khan & Neis, 2010). At the national level, the recently released Resetting the
Table: A people’s food policy for Canada emphasizes the role of Canadian fisheries in
providing healthy and sustainable seafood for Canadians and the importance of
rebuilding local markets for seafood (People’s Food Policy Project, 2011).
45
Seafood and food security in Bonne Bay
To start looking at the potential impact of fisheries
on food security and local diets in the Bonne Bay
area, a seafood consumption survey was distributed
to households as a part of this project. These results
show that local seafood is an important part of the
diet for households in this area. While this project is
focused on local seafood consumption particularly
in the context of food security, nearly 90% of
seafood from Newfoundland and Labrador is
exported to other countries and the remaining 10%
of the seafood is sold within Canada (Stephanie
Lewis, personal communication, August 04 2011).
The United States and China were the province’s largest seafood markets in 2010
(Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2011). Long
food supply chains such as these are known to decrease the proportion of value in food
production captured by primary food producers (Marsden, Banks, & Bristow, 2000). One
study from Nova Scotia found that direct marketing of local seafood may provide
benefits for fish harvesters, including greater control over the marketing of seafood and
higher prices (Anchor, 2010). According to the provincial Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture, of the approximately 10% of Newfoundland and Labrador seafood that is
sold within Canada, there are no data about how much, or what types, of this seafood is
sold within the province (Stephanie Lewis, personal communication, August 04 2011).
Chapter One of this report looked at some opportunities and challenges for new types
of seafood marketing, including new forms of collaboration among harvesters,
processors, and tourism businesses, that could improve the availability of fresh and local
seafood to the tourism sector. These ideas should also be considered in the context of
strengthening fisheries’ role within local food systems and improving availability of
seafood for people living in the Bonne Bay area.
Trout River wharf.
46
A seafood survey in the Bonne Bay area
Methods
In April 2011, a seafood survey was placed in the postal station mailboxes of households
in the Bonne Bay area, including the towns of St. Paul’s, Rocky Harbour, Norris Point,
Woody Point, Glenburnie/Birchy Head/Shoal Brook and Trout River. The survey
consisted of five sections: frequency and types of seafood eaten; ways of eating
seafood; sources of seafood; seafood in the community; and demographics. It was an
anonymous survey to be completed on by the household member responsible for
shopping and cooking. See Appendix A for a copy of the survey.
The response rate was 27% (307 surveys). Surveys were distributed by Canada Post into
all post office boxes and were returned directly to the CURRA office in St John’s in a self-
addressed stamped envelope that was provided. Households that had asked Canada
Post to not receive flyers in their mailboxes would not have received the survey.
A flyer advertising the survey was distributed to post office boxes approximately two
weeks before the survey was sent out. The survey was also promoted in the Western
Shorefast CURRA newsletter distributed electronically and in some hard copies by the
CURRA Community Coordinator, Anita Best, from the Bonne Bay Marine Station.
Results
The following sections present the main results of the survey. An SPSS statistics program
was used for data analysis. A summary of key findings and recommendations for
increasing fisheries contributions to food security in the Bonne Bay area are provided at
the end of the chapter. Unless otherwise noted, the percentages reported below
represent valid percents, which are based on the number of valid responses to each
question while excluding any households that didn’t answer the question.
Who responded to the survey
Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of households that responded to the survey.
These characteristics are compared to those of the larger population in the Bonne Bay
area using 2005 census data accessed through Community Accounts.
47
Sex
More females responded on behalf of the household than men. In the region’s
population there are a nearly equal number of men and women. The higher number of
female respondents is likely because the survey was supposed to be completed by the
person in the household responsible for shopping and cooking, tasks that often are
completed by women.
Age
Over 50% of the respondents who completed the survey on behalf of the household
were of the age 55 or above, with fewer young respondents. This is consistent with
census data which show more people in the 40-44, 45-49, and 50-54 age groups
compared to other categories.
Education
Respondents who filled out the survey on behalf of the household were asked to
indicate their highest level of education. 71% had a high school diploma or higher while
the remaining 29% had less than high school. In comparison, in 2005 only 53% of people
in the region had a high school education or more and 46% had less than a high school
education. The greater number of survey respondents with a high school education or
more may indicate that the survey was biased towards those with a higher level of
education.
Income
The highest percentage of households (16%), had annual incomes ranging from $30-39,
999 thousand. This is consistent with the median income across all family types in this
region in 2005 of $31, 900.
Occupation
The rate of employment in the fishing and tourism sectors among the surveyed
households was similar to that seen in the larger population. There was 17%
employment in the fishing sector in 2005 compared to 13% among the households
surveyed. There is no tourism occupation category from the census, so sales and service
was used as the closest category for comparison purposes. 27% of the population
48
worked in this sector in 2005, which is the same percentage observed in the households
surveyed.
Household size
Over half (54%) of the households surveyed had two members. This is similar to the
provincial average of 2.7 persons per household in 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2001).
Specific census data on number of persons per household in the Bonne Bay are not
available. 75% of surveyed households did not have children.
Household characteristics Percentage
Sex* Male 36
Female 6
Age* 21 and under 0
22-34 6
35-44 16
45-54 24
55-64 30
65 and over 24
Education* Less than high
school
10
Some high school 19
High school
diploma
22
Some college 3
College diploma 7
Trade certificate or
diploma
16
Some university 7
Bachelor degree 12
Graduate degree 4
Household gross annual
income
Under $10 000 6
$10 – 19 999 15
Table 1: Household characteristics
49
*These data were collected only for the person who responded on behalf of the household and not for all
household members.
Frequency of eating local and non-local seafood
The survey asked households how frequently they eat seafood from Newfoundland and
Labrador and how frequently they eat seafood not from Newfoundland and Labrador at
different times of the year. Results indicate very different trends in the frequency of
consumption of local (Newfoundland and Labrador seafood) and non-local (non-
Newfoundland and Labrador) seafood. Overall, households reported eating seafood
from Newfoundland and Labrador more often than seafood not from the province.
Further, frequency of eating seafood from Newfoundland and Labrador varies across
seasons, while the frequency of eating seafood not from Newfoundland and Labrador
changes little across seasons.
$ 20 – 29 999 15
$30 -39 999 16
$40 – 49 999 13
$50 - $59 999 9
$60 - $69 999 8
Over $75 000 8
Over $100 000 8
Household member
employed in tourism
industry
Yes 27
No 73
Household member
employed in fishing
industry
Yes 13
No 87
Children in household Yes 25
No 75
Household size 1 13
2 54
3 17
4 11
5 or 6 5
Households reported eating local seafood most oft
spring, fall and winter. In the summer, 31% of households said they ate seafood one to
two times a week and a further 30% ate seafood more than twice a week. This
compares to 35% of households that ate seafood one to two t
and only 18% that ate it more than twice a week. Approximately 30% of households ate
seafood one to two times a week during the fall and winter, but only 13% of households
in the fall and 11% in the winter ate seafood more than tw
ate seafood once a week in the fall and winter (approximately 33%) compared to the
spring (26%) and summer (21%). The higher frequency of seafood consumption in the
summer corresponds with the season for most local commercial a
fisheries.
In comparison to local seafood, the frequency of eating non
across seasons. 56% to 59% of households reported eating seafood not from
Newfoundland and Labrador less than once a week during all seasons. The frequency of
eating non-local seafood once a week ranges from only 8% of households in the summer
to slightly higher at 14% in the winter. Some households also indicated that they never
eat seafood from outside the province. ‘Never’ was not one of the original response
categories on the survey, but approximately 10% of respondents wrote in ‘never’ on
their survey when answering the question about eating non
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Less
than
once a
week
Once a
week
One to
two
times a
week
Frequency of eating seafood from
Newfoundland and Labrador
50
Households reported eating local seafood most often in the summer, followed by the
spring, fall and winter. In the summer, 31% of households said they ate seafood one to
two times a week and a further 30% ate seafood more than twice a week. This
compares to 35% of households that ate seafood one to two times a week in the spring
and only 18% that ate it more than twice a week. Approximately 30% of households ate
seafood one to two times a week during the fall and winter, but only 13% of households
in the fall and 11% in the winter ate seafood more than twice a week. More households
ate seafood once a week in the fall and winter (approximately 33%) compared to the
spring (26%) and summer (21%). The higher frequency of seafood consumption in the
summer corresponds with the season for most local commercial and recreational
In comparison to local seafood, the frequency of eating non-local seafood changes little
across seasons. 56% to 59% of households reported eating seafood not from
Newfoundland and Labrador less than once a week during all seasons. The frequency of
local seafood once a week ranges from only 8% of households in the summer
to slightly higher at 14% in the winter. Some households also indicated that they never
eat seafood from outside the province. ‘Never’ was not one of the original response
ies on the survey, but approximately 10% of respondents wrote in ‘never’ on
their survey when answering the question about eating non-local seafood.
One to
times a
More
than
twice a
week
Every
day
Unsure
Frequency of eating seafood from
Newfoundland and Labrador
Fall
Winter
Spring
Summer
en in the summer, followed by the
spring, fall and winter. In the summer, 31% of households said they ate seafood one to
two times a week and a further 30% ate seafood more than twice a week. This
imes a week in the spring
and only 18% that ate it more than twice a week. Approximately 30% of households ate
seafood one to two times a week during the fall and winter, but only 13% of households
ice a week. More households
ate seafood once a week in the fall and winter (approximately 33%) compared to the
spring (26%) and summer (21%). The higher frequency of seafood consumption in the
nd recreational
local seafood changes little
across seasons. 56% to 59% of households reported eating seafood not from
Newfoundland and Labrador less than once a week during all seasons. The frequency of
local seafood once a week ranges from only 8% of households in the summer
to slightly higher at 14% in the winter. Some households also indicated that they never
eat seafood from outside the province. ‘Never’ was not one of the original response
ies on the survey, but approximately 10% of respondents wrote in ‘never’ on
51
The minimal change in frequency of consumption of non-local seafood at different times
of the year suggests that households are not eating more imported seafood in the
winter to make up for the lack of fresh local seafood. Eating the same amount of non-
local seafood during all seasons may also reflect the year-round availability of imported
seafood in supermarkets.3
Factors influencing frequency of local seafood consumption
We examined the influence of household characteristics (e.g. income, household size) as
well as household participation in preserving seafood on the frequency of eating local
seafood. Chi square tests were used to investigate these relationships.4 5
3 The percentages for seafood consumption are based on the valid responses to each question, while
excluding any missing data (e.g. respondents that didn’t answer the question). There are more missing
data for frequency of eating non-local seafood (approximately 14% missing data) than frequency of eating
local seafood (approximately 2% missing data). This could be due to uncertainly on the part of
respondents about whether or not some types of seafood they are eating are from outside the province.
The percentages for consumption of non-local seafood are thus based on a smaller number of responses
than the percentages for consumption of local seafood. 4 For the purposes of these tests, the response category “unsure” was excluded for frequency of local
seafood consumption. There were very few respondents in that category so the removal likely had
minimal impact on the outcome of the results. 5 Some analyses did not meet the assumptions of the chi square test, and thus less weight can be
attributed to these results. These are marked with an asterick *.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Less
than
once a
week
Once a
week
One to
two
times a
week
More
than
twice a
week
Every
day
Never Unsure
Frequency of eating seafood not from
Newfoundland and Labrador
Fall
Winter
Spring
Summer
52
For income, results show no significant relationship between gross annual household
income and frequency of eating local seafood. In other words, income is not a good
indicator of local seafood consumption. In the context of food security, this is a positive
finding because it suggests equitable access to local seafood across income levels.
For other household characteristics, including household size and having a household
member employed in the fishing industry*, results similarly indicate no significant
association between these characteristics and how often a household eats seafood.
However, data collected about sources of seafood (presented in more detail below)
indicate that friends and family are very important. This suggests that networks of
family and friends are important to accessing seafood, but having a family member in
the immediate household who works in the fishing industry does not by itself influence
how often seafood is eaten. Access to fish through family networks could be
jeopardized is many local harvesters leave the industry.
Data about sex, age and educational level were only collected for the person who
completed the survey on behalf of the household. We tested for the effect of the
respondent’s age, sex and educational level on the frequency of household seafood
consumption, hypothesizing that the characteristics of the respondent, who was
supposed to be the person responsible for household shopping and cooking, may
influence household consumption patterns as a whole. Results show no consistent
significant relationship among education*, sex, and age* of the respondent and
frequency of household seafood consumption throughout the year. However, this does
not mean that age, sex, and educational level do not have any influence on seafood
consumption. Our analysis of the influence of these factors is limited by only having
these demographic data for the household respondent and not all household members.
Lastly, we examined the interaction between household participation in preserving
seafood (including salting, freezing, pickling, and other activities such as bottling) and
frequency of eating local seafood. Results show that salting fish is significantly and
positively associated with frequency of seafood consumption during all seasons: fall,
c2(3, N = 295)= 8.17, p =.04, winter, c2(3, N = 297)= 16.04, p =.04, spring, (3, N = 289)=
9.73, p =.02, and summer, c2 (4, N = 294)= 12.34, p =.02). The positive relationship
between salting fish and frequency of consumption may be because these households
have more fish available to eat year-round. Alternatively, salting fish may be a positive
53
indicator of the importance a household places on eating seafood more generally, which
could be comprised of various forms including salted. There is no consistent relationship
between freezing*, pickling, and other types of activities such as bottling, and frequency
of seafood consumption across all seasons.
Types of seafood being eaten and changes over time
In addition to overall frequency of seafood consumption, the survey asked about
changes in how often different types of seafood are being eaten. For a list of 15 types of
Newfoundland and Labrador seafood, households were asked to indicate if they are
eating them ‘often’, ‘now and then’ or ‘never’ for the present day and five years ago.
Table 2 shows the percentage of households that ate each type of seafood often, now
and then, and never for the two time periods. The final column in this table shows the
percent change in consumption for each species between now and five years ago. For all
species, the change in consumption observed between now and five years ago is
statistically significant (Chi2 significant at p < 0.05).
Three clear trends in seafood consumption emerge over this five year timeframe. First,
households indicated eating nearly all types of seafood less often today than five years
ago. For example, 86% of households reported eating cod often five years ago
compared to 81% eating it often now. This is a 5% decline in the percentage of
households that ate cod often between five years ago and now (denoted by a -5 in the
percent change column of the chart). This trend holds for all the major fish and shellfish
species including capelin, halibut, herring, mackerel, salmon, smelts, squid, trout, turbot
as well as crab and lobster. Capelin consumption has the greatest change between now
and five years ago. Only 8% of households said they eat it often now compared to 20%
eating it often five years ago. The only species that do not follow this trend are scallops
and shrimp, which households reported eating more often now than five years ago.
Results from a separate question about how households’ source seafood (see Table 3)
show that shrimp and scallops are being sourced less from friends and family and more
from the supermarket and fish plant in comparison to other types of seafood. The
increase in consumption for shrimp and scallops may be related to how they are being
sourced in comparison to other species.
Secondly, as households eat most types of seafood less often today, more reported
eating seafood “now and then” in comparison to five years ago. For example, 19% of
54
households said they currently eat cod now and then compared to 14% eating it now
and then five years ago. This upward trend in eating seafood now and then holds for all
the major fish and shellfish species, again with the exception of scallops and shrimp and
the addition of catfish. For salmon there is no change.
Lastly, the number of households never eating seafood is fairly consistent for most types
of seafood between now and five years ago. Capelin shows the greatest change with
21% of households never eating capelin now compared to 13% of households five years
ago.
* Data were only included for households that answered both parts of the question (i.e. now and five years
ago). Percentages may not total 100% because of rounding to the nearest percentage point. For all species,
the change in consumption observed between now and five years ago was chi2 significant at p < 0.05.
**For these species, assumptions for the chi square test were not met, thus reliability of outcomes is
weakened.
Various factors could be contributing to the decline in consumption observed for most
types of seafood. This includes lower quotas for some species, a decreasing number of
commercial fish harvesters, and low catches in the recreational cod fishery. Households
involved in commercial harvesting can access some fish for food from their landings. As
Type of Seafood
I now use (%) 5 years ago I used (%) Percent change from
5 years ago to now
Often Now and then
Never Often Now and then
Never Often Now and then
Never
Capelin 7 72 21 22 65 13 -15 +7 +8
Catfish** 0 12 88 1 14 85 -1 -2 +3
Cod** 81 19 0 86 14 0 -5 +5 0
Crab 17 75 12 24 66 10 -7 +9 +2
Halibut 27 63 10 31 61 8 -4 +2 +2
Herring 7 57 35 14 55 31 -7 +2 +4
Lobster** 27 69 4 32 64 4 -5 +5 0
Mackerel** 9 45 45 11 44 44 -2 +1 +1
Salmon** 42 55 4 43 55 2 -1 0 +2
Shrimp 31 57 12 24 62 14 +7 -5 -2
Scallops 21 58 21 15 64 25 +6 -6 -4
Smelts** 6 36 58 8 35 56 -2 +1 +2
Squid** 3 43 54 7 41 52 -4 +2 +2
Trout 17 71 12 21 67 13 -4 +4 -1
Turbot 10 48 42 16 43 41 -6 +5 +1
Table 2: Types of seafood eaten over time *
55
there are fewer commercial fish harvesters fewer families will be able to directly access
fish for subsistence. Further, the West Coast/Northern Peninsula region had the lowest
rate of participation in the recreational cod fishery in 2007 compared to other parts of
the province along with the lowest number of cod caught on average (Fisheries and
Oceans Canada, 2008).
Favourite types of seafood
Households reported eating many different types of seafood as shown in Table 2. The
survey also asked households to list their five favourite types of Newfoundland and
Labrador seafood. Cod was listed as a favourite type of seafood by 97% of households,
followed by lobster (76.5%), salmon (74.2%), halibut (56.5%), and crab (49.7%). The
three types of seafood ranked most highly- cod, lobster, and salmon- are also eaten the
most often compared to other types of seafood (see Table 2).
Sources of local seafood
In addition to the frequency and types of seafood being eaten, the survey collected
information about how households are sourcing local seafood. The survey had a chart
listing 15 different types of Newfoundland and Labrador seafood alongside six sources
for getting seafood. Households were asked to indicate for each type of seafood they
eat all the sources from which they get it. Table 3 shows the percentage of households
using each of these sources for 15 different types of seafood. The results show that
friends/family and local fish plants are the most common sources of seafood. For all
types of seafood with the exception of shrimp, either friends/family or the local fish
plant is the most frequent source. The supermarket is the most common source for
shrimp and also is an important source for salmon and scallops. The recreational fishery
is important for some fish species, particularly capelin, cod, mackerel, salmon, smelts
and trout.
56
*The numbers shown are actual percents (including missing data) based on a total of 307 respondents for
each type of seafood. Percentages may total greater than 100% for some types of seafood because
respondents could select multiple sources.
Main and preferred sources
Households were also asked to choose their overall main source and their preferred
source of Newfoundland and Labrador seafood. The results add up to more than 100%
because many households selected more than one option for each.
The main sources of Newfoundland and Labrador seafood are local fish plants (50%),
followed by friends/family (36%), recreational fishery (26%), other (10%), large
supermarkets (9%), and grocery stores (7%). The preferred sources for seafood follow a
similar trend, with local fish plants as the most preferred source (38%), followed by
friends/family (35%), recreational fishery (34%), grocery stores (5%), large supermarkets
(4%), and other sources (9%).
Type of Seafood
Sources of Seafood (%)
Friends/ family members
Local fish plant
Local grocery store
Super-market (e.g. Dominion)
Super-store (e.g. Walmart)
Other/own catch/ recreational fishery
Capelin 53 14 3 3 0 28
Catfish 5 7 1 1 0 4
Cod 58 56 15 17 1 44
Crab 41 53 4 5 0 11
Halibut 36 50 4 10 0 9
Herring 46 18 3 3 0 10
Lobster 41 70 5 5 0 13
Mackerel 29 7 1 3 1 22
Salmon 21 49 20 38 2 18
Shrimp 15 32 16 37 7 3
Scallops 17 42 11 24 2 4
Smelts 31 4 1 1 0 16
Squid 26 7 1 6 0 10
Trout 46 7 2 8 1 39
Turbot 26 24 8 7 1 6
Other 4 2 0 1 0 3
Table 3: Sources of local seafood*
57
There are two key
differences between
main and preferred
sources for seafood.
First, the recreational
fishery was ranked
higher as a preferred
source as compared to a
main source of seafood.
Secondly, while grocery
stores and
supermarkets ranked
low as a main source of
seafood they ranked
even lower as a
preferred source.
38%
35%
34%
5%4%
9%
Preferred sources for Newfoundland
and Labrador Seafood
Local fish plant
Friends/family
Recreational fishery
Grocery store
Large supermarket
Other
50%
36%
26%
7%
9%10%
Main sources for Newfoundland and
Labrador Seafood
Local fish plant
Friends/family
Recreational fishery
Grocery store
Large supermarket
Other
58
Ways of eating seafood
Meals
The results show that seafood is most likely to be eaten for supper (90%) followed by
lunch (35%) and breakfast (1%).
Children and eating seafood
Of the 25% of households that have children, 55% said their children eat the same
amount of seafood as the adults in the household. This is followed by 35% of children
who eat less seafood, and only 9% who eat more.
Forms of seafood being eaten
Nearly all households (98.4%) said fresh was the preferred form of fish to eat. This is
followed by frozen (76%), salted (70%), pickled (33%), and canned (25%). Households
were also asked about other parts of the fish they eat in addition to the fillets. Tongues
are eaten most often (91%), followed by cheeks (77%), heads (45%), and britches (43%).
Cooking and preserving seafood
Nearly all households (98%) chose pan-fried as a preferred cooking method. This is
followed by fish and brewis (73%), baked (63%), au gratin (43%), deep fried (47%),
poached (24%), barbecued (39%), soup/chowder (33%), smoked (20%), and other (14%).
The most common method for preserving seafood is freezing (95%) followed by salting
(70%), pickling (38%), and other methods such as bottling (20%). Traditionally, fish was
salted to keep through the winter because refrigeration was not available. Despite the
availability of refrigeration, 70% of households reported continuing this practice today.
Salting fish is also positively and significantly associated with frequency of eating local
seafood across all seasons.
Eating at restaurants
50% of the surveyed households said they eat at a restaurant less than once a month.
This is followed by eating out two to three times a month (21%), once a month (20%),
and fewer households eating out once a week (6%) or more than once a week (1%). The
survey also asked how likely it would be for a member of the household to order
seafood when eating out. 35% of households said this was very likely, followed by likely
(32%), not likely (22%), and never (11%).
59
Seafood in the community
Households were asked to indicate how satisfied they are with the availability,
affordability and quality of seafood in their community. Results are fairly similar for
satisfaction with availability and affordability while satisfaction with seafood quality
ranks higher.
Approximately 40% of households said they are satisfied in the areas of availability and
affordability and a further 30% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. 13% of households
are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the availability of seafood while 16% are
neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with affordability. The very satisfied category ranks
lower in both cases, with only 14% of households very satisfied with availability and
even fewer at 7% very satisfied with affordability.
Quality of seafood rates higher than availability and affordability. 52% of households
reported being satisfied and a further 26% are very satisfied with the quality of seafood
in their community. Only 9% said they are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Satisfaction with availabiity, affordability and
quality of seafood
Availability
Affordability
Quality
60
Summary of key findings
o Households reported eating local seafood much more often than seafood from
outside the province.
o Frequency of local seafood consumption varies across seasons, and it is eaten
most often in the summer.
o Household characteristics including gross annual income, size, and having a
member employed in the fishing sector are not significantly related to the
frequency of eating local seafood.
o Households that salt fish are likely to eat more seafood throughout the year.
o The five favourite types of seafood reported by households are cod, lobster,
salmon, halibut, and crab.
o Most types of seafood are being consumed less often today than five years ago,
including capelin, cod, halibut, herring, mackerel, salmon, smelts, trout, turbot,
crab and lobster. Various factors could be contributing to this downward trend in
consumption, such as lower quotas for some species, decreasing number of
commercial fish harvesters, and low catches in the recreational cod fishery.
o Local fish plants and networks of friends and family are the two main sources for
local seafood. These are also the two most preferred sources for local seafood.
o Nearly 70% of households are likely or very likely to order seafood when eating
out at a restaurant.
o Seafood is mainly eaten at supper time.
o Pan-fried is the preferred method for cooking seafood (98%). This is followed by
fish and brewis (73%), baked (63%), au gratin (43%), and deep fried (47%).
o Nearly all households (98%) indicated that fresh is their preferred form of fish to
eat followed by frozen (76%) and salted (70%).
o Freezing is a very common method of preserving seafood (95%), followed by
salting fish (70%).
o Most children (55%) eat the same amount of seafood as the adults in their
household. 35% of children eat less seafood and only 9% of children eat more
seafood than the adults in their household.
o Only 50% of households said they are satisfied or very satisfied with the
availability and affordability of seafood in their community. Quality of seafood
ranks more highly, with nearly 80% of households satisfied or very satisfied with
the quality of seafood in their community.
61
Recommendations for strengthening fisheries contributions to food security in the
Bonne Bay area
• The strong preference for local seafood suggests there may be opportunities to
enhance local sales and markets for seafood in the region.
• The enhanced integration of fisheries into local food systems may help sustain
fishing enterprises by diversifying economic opportunities and lessening
dependence on distant export markets. Fish harvesters in other parts of Canada
are experimenting with new ways of marketing seafood, some examples of
which are provided in Chapter Three.
• Chapter One looked at some opportunities and challenges for new types of
seafood marketing, and new forms of collaboration among harvesters,
processors, and tourism businesses, to improve the availability of fresh and local
seafood to the tourism sector. These marketing ideas should similarly be
considered in the context of strengthening fisheries role within local food
systems and improving availability of seafood for people living in the Bonne Bay
area.
• To inform the development of any new local markets more specific research
should look at the supply and demand for seafood in local markets, including
how much residents are able and willing to pay for seafood, along with the types
and volumes of species being harvested in the area.
• There is a need for further research to look into the factors contributing to the
decline in seafood consumption over the past five years that this survey has
indicated along with recommendations for addressing this decline.
• There is a need for more cross-sectoral policy making in which health, nutrition,
and food security considerations can be integrated into fisheries management
decisions.
The findings from this survey will be used in Kristen Lowitt’s PhD thesis which will also
lend more insights into the survey results. As part of her PhD research, Kristen is
undertaking interviews with households in the Bonne Bay area about their food
provisionig practices. This work will further contribute to an understanding about the
importance of seafood in local diets both historically and in the present day. It will also
examine in greater depth some of the factors influencing changes in seafood
consumption in the region and look at household seafood consumption within a broader
food provisioning context.
62
CHAPTER THREE: FISHERIES, TOURISM AND LOCAL FOOD SYSTEM INITIATIVES FROM
OTHER PLACES
Seafood and fisheries play an important role in the tourism sector and in the food
systems of local communities in the Bonne Bay area. This project has looked at both
tourism and local food systems as ways of increasing consumption of local seafood in
this region, enhancing the incomes of those in each sector and the longer term
resiliency of both sectors. The enhanced integration of fisheries into the tourism sector
and local food system may diversify seafood markets for the fishing sector and
potentially provide a higher value for locally harvested seafood. The experiential aspect
of fisheries may provide a further avenue for fish harvesters to diversify their fishing
enterprises.
This chapter provides examples of projects from other places related to fisheries,
tourism, and local food systems. For simplicity of organization, these examples have
been divided into the categories of culinary tourism, alternative ways of marketing
seafood, and experiential tourism. However, these categories can overlap. For example,
a fresh fish market may serve as an alternative way for harvesters to market seafood at
the same time it can be a venue for culinary tourism.
This section begins with examples of culinary tourism initiatives from other places that
have successfully promoted local food attractions to tourists. Culinary tourism initiatives
that involve seafood are highlighted. Following this is a look at some alternative models
of marketing seafood that may provide harvesters with a higher price for a part of their
catch while allowing customers, including local people, restaurants and tourists, access
to fresh local seafood. Lastly, examples of experiential tourism activities involving
fisheries are presented, including boat tours, seafood festivals, and heritage attractions.
Culinary tourism initiatives
Food is becoming an increasingly important part of the tourism experience. Many
provinces have put effort into growing their culinary tourism industry based upon local
and regional specialties available in their province. In this province, a Taste of
Newfoundland and Labrador program was initiated in the past by the Newfoundland
and Labrador Restaurant and Food Services Association and Hospitality Newfoundland
and Labrador. Taste was designed to increase the use of fresh local food products in
restaurants throughout the Province (J. Angelopolous, personal communication, May 10
63
2011). In 2004, a study commissioned by the Department of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation to come up with a provincial tourism product development strategy
recommended that reinstating the Taste of Newfoundland program should be a priority
(Economic Planning Group of Canada, 2004).
Two examples of current culinary tourism initiatives from other provinces in Canada are
provided to encourage ideas for similar culinary tourism efforts that could be
undertaken in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Taste of Nova Scotia
In the province of Nova Scotia, Taste of Nova Scotia is a province-wide, food marketing
association whose members are “committed to offering the very best culinary
experience Nova Scotia has to offer” (Taste of Nova Scotia, 2010a, About Us).
Taste of Nova Scotia has two main membership categories: producers/processors and
restaurants. All members are listed on the website and featured in the annual Taste of
Nova Scotia Culinary Experience Guide. Members must meet various qualifications to
join the association, including criteria around local product sourcing and local product
selections (Taste of Nova Scotia, 2010b). Taste of Nova Scotia’s most recent culinary
tourism program is called ‘Adventures in Taste,’ with adventures available in the
categories of restaurants, wine and breweries, land and sea, farmers’ markets, specialty
food shops, festival and events, tours, and culinary vacation packages. The program is
designed to showcase “unique and memorable culinary and wine tourism experiences
throughout the province” (Tastes of Nova Scotia, 2010c, Adventures).
The Adventures in Taste website (http://adventuresintaste.ca) features a searchable
directory culinary adventures, some of which focus on seafood and fisheries including
fishing tours, seafood retail outlets, and restaurants. Some the attractions listed on the
website include tours of the Eel Lake Oyster Farm, where visitors can go on a boat ride
and taste oysters; and the Aquaprime Mussel Ranch, where visitors can learn about how
mussels are grown and purchase some to take home with them. Seafood retail and
wholesale outlets are also listed on the site, such as the Fisherman’s International
Market and Clearwater Seafoods in Halifax.
64
La Cuisine Regionale au Quebec
In Quebec, the association La Cuisine Regionale au Quebec was established to develop
relationships between local food producers, chefs, restaurants, hoteliers and the
Ministry of Agriculture. For a restaurant to qualify for membership to the association, 70
percent of the food they serve has to be produced in Quebec and 50 percent must be
from the local region (Marcotte, 1995 as cited in Hashimoto & Telfer, 2006). Culinary
tours are also being offered throughout the province. The province is separated into 20
tourist districts, and as a part of their marketing efforts, the provincial tourism
organization Bonjour Quebec focuses on food specialties available in each region. For
example, the Bas-Saint-Laurent region running along the St Lawrence River has become
known for smoked fish, such as salmon, trout, sturgeon and eel (Hashimoto & Telfer,
2006).
Alternative models for marketing seafood
Over the past decade, food systems seen as ‘alternative’ to the conventional food
system have received increasing attention. In the context of agriculture, this often
focuses on farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture projects, and farmer
cooperatives. Similarly, in recent years there has been more emphasis on developing
alternative ways for fish harvesters to sell a portion of their catch. These alternatives to
the conventional food system are often based on direct marketing in which the
attention is focused on allowing harvesters to sell further up the supply chain, to
customers such as retailers or individuals, rather than to a buyer or processor. This
allows producers to capture more of the consumer dollar while allowing customers a
more direct connection with food producers. With direct marketing, harvesters can set
up individual businesses, or sell through organizations such as cooperatives or fisher
associations (Temple, 2010).
Following are some examples of alternative seafood marketing models that may
enhance the local availability of seafood for local people and tourism businesses, while
providing economic benefits for fish harvesters. Many, although not all of these
examples, are based on direct marketing. From a food security perspective price is
particularly important. While fish harvesters should receive a fair price for their product,
at the same time local seafood should be accessible to everyone and not only those who
can pay a premium price for it. Meeting these two aims remains a challenge in many
community-based food projects.
65
It is also important to note that these alternative models for seafood marketing are not
meant to replace existing markets that harvesters already have in place for their catch,
but may be seen as one strategy to enable fish harvesters to capture more value for a
part of their catch.
Community supported fisheries
A community-supported fishery (CSF) is adapted from the idea of Community Supported
Agriculture, in which a customer (a local restaurant, retailer, or individual) pays in
advance for a share of the season’s harvest. In a CSF, a customer signs up at the
beginning of the season for a share of the season’s catch. They pay at the beginning of
the season and then receive weekly deliveries of seafood. Some CSFs have groundfish
and shellfish available at different times of the year in separate subscription packages.
The environmental sustainability of the fishery and an opportunity to get to know the
fish harvester and where their seafood is coming from are key aspects of CSFs. CSFs are
growing in number across North America. Two examples of Community Supported
Fisheries include Off the Hook in Nova Scotia and Port Clyde Fresh Catch.
Off the Hook, Nova Scotia
http://www.offthehookcsf.ca/
Off the Hook is the first CSF in Atlantic Canada, which supports a small cooperative of
ground fish fishing families in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. ‘Off the Hook’
Community connects a co-operative of small-scale, groundfish bottom hook and line fish
harvesters from the Bay of Funday to customers in and around Halifax. Customers
subscribe at the beginning of the summer season for weekly shares of the cooperative’s
catch of fresh whole haddock and hake (Off the Hook Community Supported Fishery,
n.d.). For the first time this season, Off the Hook is working with a local processor to
provide fish fillets and not only the whole fish (Personal communication, June 26, 2011).
The CSF is designed to provide fish harvesters with more income by selling further up
the supply chain, more market choices, and increased ownership and livelihood control.
Further, because subscribers sign on to share risks, CSFs can help protect harvester’s
safety by allowing them to decide when it is safe to leave the wharf. Customers gain
access to fresh, high-quality, and fish that is traceable directly to the harvester (Off the
Hook Community Supported Fishery, n.d.). For a more detailed description of Off the
66
Hook, see the CURRA report prepared by Katie Temple available at
http://www.curra.ca/reports.htm
Midcoast Fisherman’s Cooperative and Port Clyde Fresh Catch, Maine
http://www.portclydefreshcatch.comn
Fishing has long been an important source of income for the small village of Port Clyde,
Maine. The Muscongus and Penobscot bays meet at Port Clyde, providing the village
with key access to many fishing grounds. Determined to preserve their heritage,
community, and local resources, the village is home to the first community supported
fishery in New England. Today, about a dozen groundfishing vessels make up Port
Clyde’s small fleet, fishing for shrimp as well as groundfish including haddock, flounder,
cod, pollock, and hake (Port Clyde Fresh Catch, n.d.).
In 2006, the Midcoast Fishermen's Association was formed as a nonprofit advocacy
group for area fishermen committed to restoring groundfish populations and sustaining
fisheries along the coast of Maine. In 2007, the Midcoast Fisherman’s Cooperative was
also founded to give local fishers more control over the marketing of their seafood and
they created the first community supported fishery in New England marketing their fish
under the ‘Port Clyde Fresh Catch’ brand (Nortwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, 2010). The
Cooperative requires members to use lighter gear and more sustainable methods
(Frazer, 2009).
Customers sign up and pay in advance for a weekly share of wild-caught fish harvested
by the Cooperative, with shares running for twelve weeks from June to September. In
the winter months, subscriptions for shrimp are available. The Coop also offers several
Port Clyde Fresh Catch seafood products to wholesalers such as restauranteurs,
caterers, and food retailers. The fish is filleted in their Port Clyde-based, HAACP-certified
processing facility before it is delivered (Port Clyde Fresh Catch, n.d.). By selling fish
through the community supported fishery and farmers' markets, Port Clyde fishermen
can afford to harvest fewer fish because they are paid more for their harvest, thus
helping the recovery of fish stocks while consumers also get a high-quality product
(Frazer).
67
Fish buyers’ clubs
Another innovative model of encouraging local sales is a buyers’ club. Food buying clubs
have been around for a long time, and are continuing to grow in number across Canada.
A bulk buying club is a group of people with similar food preferences who come
together to buy food in bulk (Food Security Network of Newfoundland and Labrador,
2011). The Food Security Network of Newfoundland and Labrador recently designed a
toolkit to assist community organizations in starting a bulk buying club.
However, a buyer’s club for seafood is a relatively new idea. The Fundy North
Fishermen’s Association in Nova Scotia is presently developing a seafood bulk buying
club. In 2010, they had about 20 people but would like to expand in 2011 to have about
50 to 100 customers. The buyers club is a different from a Community Supported
Fishery, in that the Fisherman’s Association has a list of customers who, rather than
getting a share of fish every week are sent instead a list of available fish for sale. The
Fishermen’s Association then delivers the fish to individual customers. They offer a
variety of seafood including halibut, haddock and shad, as well as some shellfish
including lobster, shrimp and scallops. Fishers receive a higher price than they would
normally get from selling to a regular buyer (Temple, 2010).
Fish auctions
For decades, a fish auction in Hawaii has provided a means for independent fish
harvesters to sell their catch at a fair price. As described on the Hawaii Seafood Council
website (2010), United Fishing Agency Ltd., based in Hawaii, started the auction in 1952
and continues to operate it today. The United Fishing Agency was interested in coming
up with a way for independent harvesters to sell their catch at a fair price rather than
sell it for prices set by wholesalers. The auction uses open competitive bidding which
rewards higher quality fish with higher prices. The auction helps generate fair prices for
the range of fish species while in turn enabling buyers, from the wholesale, retail, and
restaurant sectors, to get the freshest fish. The Honolulu Fish Auction is based on the
famous Tokyo auction, where large fish are sold individually rather than by the boatload
to a wholesaler. The auction also makes sure that fish harvesters are paid the same day
for their catch.
68
Fish and farmers’ markets
Farmers’ markets have become common features in many communities across North
America and Europe. They allow farmers to capture a higher price for their products by
selling their goods directly to customers. The social interaction and relationships that
form between farmers and customers is a central part of the market experience
(Marsden, Banks, & Bristow, 2000; Venn et al., 2006). Fresh fish markets may provide a
similar experience, such as the sea-fresh fish market launched in a small Netherlands
fishing community during the 2004 tourist season. The market provides fish directly to
customers, while also offering demonstrations such as how to fillet fish and mend
fishing nets. The following description of this market is adapted from two short papers
by Cornelie Quist (2008) of the Women in Fisheries Network of the Netherlands.
Wieringen is a fishing community in the Netherlands, with a long history of fishing. As a
result of a variety of challenges- including decreasing fish stocks, limited fishing grounds,
EU fishery management policies, and increasing investment costs combined with lower
fish prices- the future of the local fishing community was uncertain. VinVis, the women
in fisheries network made up of the wives of local fisherman, pioneered efforts to
establish a local fresh fish market in which their best fresh fish could be sold for a fair
price. The result was a pilot project of a Sea-Fresh Fish Market, launched in the summer
of 2004. The market, run by the women volunteers, provided fish directly to customers.
Various demonstrations such as how to peel shrimp, fillet and prepare fish, and mend
nets were also held at the market. The success of the pilot project resulted in the Sea-
Fresh Fish Market operating every Saturday throughout the year, and offering different
types of fresh fish depending on the season and with prices in line with weather
conditions and the size of the catch. The market has developed a permanent group of
customers including exclusive restaurants, fish shops and consumers. The market has
also expanded to include other local food producers offering different kinds of salt-
water produce, shrimp croquettes, and organic and other regionally branded products.
Rather than establishing a separate fresh fish market, at least one fisher’s cooperative
has been selling at farmers’ markets. The Yankee Fishermens’ Cooperative in Seabrook,
New Hampshire looked into establishing direct markets for their seafood in response to
challenges facing the New Hampshire fishing industry, including decreasing quotas and
declining incomes for commercial harvesters. In February 2009, the Co-operative
attended its first farmers’ market at which they sold shrimp, in five and ten pound bags,
69
and lobster. As a Cooperative, they already had the required federal permits to sell
seafood directly. The University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension assisted the
Co-op in working with New Hampshire Fish and Game and the state Department of
Health and Human Services to get any needed state permits (La Valley, 2009). Bob
Campbell, General Manager of the Co-operative said the purpose of selling at the
farmers’ markets was “to build stronger links between the commercial fishermen and
consumers, local fresh markets, and area restaurants” (cited in La Valley, 2009). The
Cooperative’s success in direct selling at farmers’ markets lead them to establish its own
website and a Community Supported Fishery for shrimp in 2010 (Chiaramida, 2010).
Fish co-operatives
With direct marketing, some fish harvesters sell through organizations such as
cooperatives or fisher associations. Some examples of fish co-operatives involved in
direct marketing have already been described, including the Off the Hook Community
Supported Fishery in Nova Scotia and the Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative in New
Hampshire. However, a good example of a fisher cooperative in Newfoundland and
Labrador that is engaged in local sales is the Fogo Island Cooperative. The Fogo Island
Cooperative harvests various species of seafood, and is made up of fish harvesters, plant
workers and management employees. In 2008, they started a baited cod pot project in
collaboration with the Shorefast Foundation, the provincial government, the Marine
Institute, and the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation.
The baited cod pot fishery allows harvesters from the Coop to sustainably harvest cod
and receive a premium price for their catch. Cod is caught using baited pots, considered
a sustainable method of harvesting because it does not damage the ocean bottom and
bycatch, as well as small cod, can be released alive from the pot. It also results in a
better quality product since the fish are caught alive in the pots. The cod is then locally
processed into skin-on fillets, since these fillets retain their flavor better after freezing.
The fillets are sold to restaurants by the Fogo Island Coop. Fish harvesters are receiving
twice as much per pound for cod potted fish because the Co-op is able to get a premium
price from restaurants.
Experiential fisheries-tourism projects
This final set of examples focuses on experiential fisheries-tourism activities. While
seafood is an important regional food product for both tourists and local people in the
70
Bonne Bay area, seafood and fisheries may also contribute to experiential tourism.
Examples of experiential tourism activities involving fisheries include boat tours,
seafood festivals, and heritage attractions.
A focus on tourism experiences has been a prominent reoccurring theme in the tourism
literature over the last several decades (Tung & Ritchie, 2011). Canada is seeing
evidence of this shift towards more experiential tourism. For example, within Atlantic
Canada, the province of Nova Scotia has built its tourism development and marketing
around core experiences in the areas of seacoast, outdoor, culture, cuisine, heritage and
urban. The province has developed a tourism brand based around old-time maritime
culture, focusing on the attributes of old-world charm, new-world pulse, shaped by the
sea, and the spirit of our people (Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural
Development and Tourism, 2011). The province recently released an “Experience Nova
Scotia” toolkit, a practical tool designed for tourism operators to craft new experiences
for their visitors.
This toolkit is designed to be a practical
The government of New Brunswick has also made inroads into experiential tourism
product development. In 2009, the Department of Tourism and Parks introduced the
2009-2012 Product Development Direction, which involved the development of
experiential tourism products. Product Development Officers from the Department
worked with tourism operators to help in the development of 110 experiential tourism
experiences and get them ready for the 2010 marketing season (New Brunswick
Department of Tourism and Parks, 2010). In 2010, the “Experience Collection” was
launched on the official New Brunswick Tourism website maintained by the Department
of Tourism and Parks. The Experience Collection features the many ways that tourists
can experience New Brunswick. The Collection features experience in different
categories, including celebration, call of the wild, cuisine, and culture and customs,
among others (Government of New Brunswick, 2010).
Further beyond, New Zealand has been a leader in experiential tourism. The focus in
New Zealand is on the quality of the visitor experience to fulfill the promise of their
international marketing message which is “100% Pure New Zealand” (Economic Planning
Group of Canada, 2004). Various organizations are involved in the country’s tourism
efforts. This includes Tourism New Zealand, a crown corporation responsible for
international marketing, and Qualmark, a quality assurance agency. Qualmark was
71
established in 1993, supported by leading tourism industry associations, and offers a
fully integrated system for assessing all accommodation, transport, activities and
services. The Qualmark website explains the quality assurance grading system to
tourists, marketed as “100% Pure Assurance,” and also lists all Qualmark assured visitor
service providers (Qualmark, n.d.). To assist with in-country and in-region marketing and
destination management initiatives, New Zealand has also established Regional Tourism
Organizations (Economic Planning Group of Canada, 2004).
While the experiential tourism sector generally has been growing in recent years, there
are some specific examples of experiential tourism initiatives that involve fisheries.
Some examples of such projects, both local and from around the world, are presented
below. These include boat tours led by fish harvesters, seafood festivals, and heritage
attractions.
Boat tours
Guided boat tours led by fisher harvesters are a type of experiential activity that allows
tourists to learn about fishing directly from fish harvesters. Two boat tours are
described below, including a pilot project in the Gaspe Region of Quebec in which
lobster harvesters take tourists on sea outings, and an experiential artisanal fisheries
tour in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. On each of these tours, visitors get to go on a
fishing vessel, see various sea creatures, and learn about fish harvesting and the fishing
heritage of a region.
Commercial fishing for tourism purposes in the Gaspe Region, Quebec
A new experiential fisheries tourism product is being developed with commercial fish
harvesters in the Gaspe Region of Quebec (Laurin, 2010; D. Laurin, personal
communication, 2011). The project entails “commercial fishing for tourism purposes,” as
it is limited to fishers holding a lobster licence. The initiative is being led by the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Economic Development Canada (DEC) in
partnership with the professional fish harvesters’ group of the Southern Gaspé
Peninsula. The pilot project will offer tourists in the region a chance to go on a fishing
boat with an accredited fish harvester to catch some seafood. The harvester will share
with them the culture and heritage of the coastal fishery on the Gaspé Peninsula. By
encouraging new collaboration with the tourism sector the project aims to provide new
approaches to ensuring the viability of lobster fishing on the Gaspé Peninsula.
72
The project has been developed in response to problems facing the Canadian lobster
industry and the need to come up with sustainable economic development solutions for
coastal communities. The partner organization identified a variety of species they
wanted to be part of the commercial fishery for tourism purposes project for the 2011
season. These species include: snow crab, rock crab, lobster, halibut, and scallop. For
lobster and snow crab, the fishery will take place outside of the normal fishing periods
and will therefore require an impact assessment by biologists before the fishery is
authorized. The scallop fishery is a dive fishery and will not be part of the pilot project.
For cod and mackerel, these activities will be “chartering” rather than commercial
fisheries for tourism purposes, and they will take place within the context of the
recreational fishery.
The project is currently being implemented, and was piloted for the first time this past
summer, with lobster. To ensure that the new initiative has no net effect on the
resources and in order to improve the fit between the fishery and the tourism season, it
was proposed that harvesters should place a certain number of lobsters in a pound
during their regular season and release these when they begin the tourism project. They
will then be allowed to catch the same number of lobsters in the tourism fishery as they
release from the pound. Harvesters have received some training in preparation for the
pilot project. A partnership has been established with Groupe Collégia (adult
education), which offers customized training. Their mission is to improve community
development with quality training. The course offered to fishers included an
introduction and overview of the tourism industry and communication techniques
related to offering and promoting a product. The participants gained new knowledge
that blended with their professional fishing know-how. Preliminary work with Transport
Canada has allowed them to establish the terms and requirements for harvester
engagement in this fishery, notably safety certification, required permits and
equipment, and information on applicable regulations and standards. More information
about this project is available on the CURRA website at
http://www.curra.ca/documents/links_Gaspe_fisheries-
tourism_pilot_project_presentation.pdf
73
Artisanal fisheries for tourism in the Galapagos Marine Reserve
Located off the coast of Ecuador, the Galapagos Marine Reserve is the second largest
marine reserve in the world at 133 000 square kilometers. In 2001, the Galapagos
Marine Reserve was named a World Heritage Site. The Directorate of the Galapagos
National Park oversees the management of the Marine Reserve. The reserve is divided
into different zones according to its different characteristics and permitted uses. The
multiple use zone permits fishing, tourism, science, and conservation activities. An
important part of the local population of the Galapagos is economically dependent on
the Marine Reserve including for fishing. However, overfishing of some species
threatens the long-term sustainability of the resource (Directorate of the Galapagos
National Park, 2009a).
To provide an alternative livelihood opportunity for fishers and help offset fishing
pressure, the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park has established experiential
artisanal fishing. This is a demonstrative mode of fishing with a focus on tourism
whereby artisanal fish harvesters, using their regular working infrastructure including
boats and gear, offer visitors the opportunity to get to know their culture, lifestyle and
traditional art of fishing. This alternative has the main objective of “providing a
profitable alternative to the Galapagos fishing industry, with less impact to the
ecosystems in that catch volumes are limited to the demonstration of the activity”
(Directorate of the Galapagos National Park, 2009b, Monitoring). The Directorate notes
that to date, over 50 local families depend on this alternative to fishing. There is also an
experiential artisanal fishing for diving, which involves making dives to show visitors the
techniques used in the capture of species. All specimens caught during the diving are
released. To participate in the experiential artisanal fishing program, fish harvesters are
required to attend trainings in the areas of passenger quality services, management of
the Galapagos Marine Reserve, techniques for release of marine organisms, and species
identification (Directorate of the Galapagos National Park, 2009b).
Fresh fish markets
A fresh fish market started in a small fishing community in the Netherlands was
described in the section above about alternative seafood marketing. This fish market,
while important to local fish harvesters and residents, was launched during the tourist
season in 2004. It provided an important culinary tourism venue by letting tourists
74
purchase local fish and take in fishing demonstrations. As organiser Cornelie Quist said,
“The visitor could experience the realities of fishing for a living” (Quist, 2008).
Seafood festivals
Festivals are also venues for promoting the food culture and products of a region.
Newfoundland and Labrador has several food festivals, including the annual Blueberry
Festival in the Town of Brigus and the Roots, Rants, and Roars Festival in the Town of
Elliston. One example of a local seafood festival is the Cow Head Lobster Festival, which
starts off the summer tourism season each July.
Two festivals from Canada, the Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival and
the British Columbia Shellfish Festival, are described below. From further away, the
Newquay Fish Festival in Cornwall, England is described. Other notable seafood festivals
across Canada include the Pictou Lobster Carnival in Nova Scotia, the Summerside
Lobster Carnival in PEI, the Shediac Lobster Festival in New Brunswick, the Oyster
Festival in Maisonette, New Brunswick, and the Atlantic Seafood Festival in Moncton,
New Brunswick.
Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival
http://www.peishellfish.com/
The Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival is entering its sixteenth season.
It was first started as a one-day event in 1996 by a local restaurateur who wanted to
better promote the island’s shellfish (T. Singleton, personal communication, May 10,
2011). Since then, it has grown into a four-day festival that showcases Prince Edward
Island's shellfish industry. The festival features culinary demonstrations from world class
chefs, a kitchen party with musical performances, a guided ‘Shellfish 101’ boat tour, and
a range of shellfish competitions. The festival is now run as a joint effort of the PEI
Aquaculture Alliance and the PEI Shellfish Association. It is a key attraction in the
province’s Fall Flavours, a month-long celebration of food and culture in PEI (Prince
Edward Island International Shellfish Festival, 2010).
The main aims of the festival are to educate customers, chefs, and buyers about the
quality of the shellfish industry in PEI; to provide a venue for promoting shellfish
products; and to connect shellfish growers, chefs, and buyers. The festival has an
education tent, attended by growers, that showcases the industry’s different products
75
and explains how they are grown and harvested (T. Singleton, personal communication,
May 10, 2011).
A number of cash prize competitions, including international competitions in oyster
shucking and a chef’s challenge, attract visitors and chefs from across North America to
the festival. While the shellfish industry hopes to generate new markets and sales as a
result of the festival, the festival itself also serves as a fundraiser for the Shellfish
Association. Many of the growers donate their product to the Association as part of the
festival fundraiser. This product is then sold directly to customers at the festival. The
Culinary Institute of Canada is a sponsor of the festival, and cooking demonstrations
teach customers about ways of preparing shellfish (T. Singleton, personal
communication, May 10, 2011).
As a part of the festival, a shellfish boat cruise is also offered. Shellfish growers go on
the boat with the visitors and talk about how shellfish is grown and harvested. Visitors
also get to taste mussels on board. So far, the Festival has focused mainly on oysters
and mussels, along with some clams and quahog. They are looking to introduce lobster
for the first time this year (T. Singleton, personal communication, May 10, 2011).
British Columbia Shellfish Festival
http://bcshellfishfestival.ca/
The BC Shellfish Festival is a weekend-long celebration in the Comox Valley area on
Vancouver Island. The 2011 festival is being presented by the BC Shellfish Growers
Association. It features cooking demonstrations, shellfish competitions, local shellfish,
and live entertainment. The Festival website features some favourite chef recipes for
oysters, mussels, and clams as well as a list of restaurants in the area offering shellfish
specials for the week leading up to the festival. The Festival is a non-profit society which
is run by a volunteer board of directors. The society’s main aims are to create a culinary
destination for seafood lovers; to position the festival as a culinary event that highlights
and markets British Columbia’s shellfish, farmers and chefs; and to create a venue for BC
shellfish farmers and chefs to connect and share their offerings with the public (British
Columbia Shellfish Festival, n.d.).
76
Newquay fish festival, England
http://www.newquayfishfestival.co.uk/
The idea for a fish festival in Newquay, a small fishing town in Cornwall, England, came
in part from local fish harvesters who were aware of similar festivals in other places and
wanted to start one in their town. The first Newquay Fish Festival took place in
September 2003 and it is now in its eighth year. The Newquay Fish Festival website
describes Newquay Harbour as a place with a “thriving micro-economy” in which the
“traditional fishing industry works comfortably alongside the ever changing face of
tourism” (Newquay Fish Festival, n.d.a).
The Newquary Fish Festival is enjoyed by both residents and vistors alike. The Festival is
designed to showcase the Harbour including the locally available fish and shellfish.
Cooking demonstrations led by local chefs from hotels and restaurants are one of the
highlights of the festival. There are also fish filleting demonstrations and a sample
lobster hatchery. Other local foods, including desserts and local produce, are also
featured. These food events are accompanied by musical entertainment and other
activities at the waterfront (Newquay Fish Festival, n.d.b).
Museums and heritage attractions
Museums and heritage sites are another type of experiential opportunity. Experiences
have been described as the main product of museums, which they try to facilitate
through the use of various settings, presentations, and artifacts (Prentice, Witt &
Hamer, 1998). Museums and heritage sites do not usually involve present-day fish
harvesters in their operations to the same extent as some of the other activities
described above. However, heritage sites may help increase overall interest among
tourists in the fishing culture of a region and encourage them to visit other experiential
fisheries attractions.
A well-known fisheries heritage attraction in the United States is the New Bedford
Whaling National Historical Park. The Park celebrates the heritage of New Bedford,
Massachusetts, described as the preeminent whaling port of the nineteenth century.
The Park advertises for visitors to come “stroll down cobblestone streets, visit the
world’s largest whaling museum, tour a whaling merchant’s home and whaleman's
chapel, and walk a 19th century schooner’s decks” (National Park Service, 2011).
77
In Nova Scotia, the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic celebrates the fishing heritage of
the Atlantic coast of Canada. The Museum encourages tourists to “experience life in a
fishing community and discover, up close, life at sea” (Nova Scotia Museum, 2011a). It is
open seasonally, and features vessels at the wharf, a theatre, an extensive aquarium
and many exhibits. The Museum also involves in its operators retired fish harvesters
who “accentuate the experience of visiting the Museum” (Nova Scotia Museum, 2011b).
In the Gros Morne area, Parks Canada
maintains the Broom Point Fishing Exhibit. It
features the old fishing premises used by
the Mudge fudge. Tours by Parks Canada
interpreters are offered throughout the
summer.
Sign directing tourists to the Broom Point
fishing exhibit maintained by Parks
Canada.
78
CONCLUSION
This report has been completed as part of a research project in the Bonne Bay area on
Newfoundland’s west coast looking at the foundations for improved economic
opportunities for fish harvesters and tourism operators, based on enhanced
collaboration among the fisheries and tourism sectors, as well as on increased regional
consumption of seafood including among local people.
The project steering committee is continuing to meet and is discussing the outcomes of
this research and planning next steps for work in the area of fishery and tourism
development in Bonne Bay. Those who have read this report and want to get involved
or want more information are encouraged to contact Barbara Neis at bneis@mun.ca or
phone at 709-864-7244 or Marion McCahon (Rural Secretariat) at
MarionMcCahon@gov.nl.ca or phone at 709-637-2937. More information about the
CURRA can be found at www.curra.ca or by contacting Anita Best at the Bonne Bay
Marine Station at abest@mun.ca or by phone at 709-458-3014.
79
REFERENCES
Anchor Consulting (2010). Local seafood direct marketing: Emerging trends for small-
scale fishers in Nova Scotia. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
British Columbia Shellfish Festival. (n.d.). Retrieved May 9 2011 from
http://www.bcshellfishfestival.ca/BCSF/Welcome.html
Brunner, E., Jones, P., Friel, S., & Bartley, M. (2009). Fish, human health and marine
ecosystem health: policies in collision. International Journal of Epidemiology 38,
93–100.
Burger, J. & Gochfeld, M. (2009). Perceptions of the risks and benefits of fish
consumption: Individual choices to reduce risk and increase health benefits.
Environmental Research 109, 343-349.
Chiaramida, A. ( 2 January, 2010). Fishermen’s co-op works to keep industry alive. The
Daily News. Retrieved July 14 2011 from
http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x546280870/Fishermans-Co-op-
works-to-keep-industry-alive
CURRA. (2010). Bonne Bay fisheries-tourism Forum: Meeting report. Retrieved from
CURRA website www.curra.ca
Davar, C. (2010, Aug. 2). Australia positioning around “experiences and nature.” [ Web
log post]. Retrieved May 04 2011 from
http://www.tourismcafe.ca/2010/08/australia-positioning-around-experiences-
and-nature/
Dietitians of Canada (2007). Community food security: Position of Dietitians of Canada.
Public Policy Statements. Dietitians of Canada.
Directorate of the Galapagos National Park. (2009a). About the Galapagos Marine
Reserve. Retrieved May 06 2011 from
http://galapagospark.org/nophprg.php?page=reserva_marina_sobre_la
Directorate of the Galapagos National Park. (2009b). Monitoring and evaluation of
experiential artisanal fisheries. Retrieved May 06 2011 from
http://galapagospark.org/nophprg.php?page=reserva_marina_manejo_pesquer
o_pescavivencial
Dolan, H., Talyor, M., Neis, B., Ommer., R., Eyles, J., Schneider, D., & Montevechi, B.
Restructuring and health in Canadian coastal communities. EcoHealth 2, 195-
208.
80
Economic Planning Group of Canada. (2004). A special place a special people: The future
for Newfoundland and Labrador tourism. Prepared for Newfoundland and
Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation.
Ewtushik, M. (2003). The cost of eating in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dieticians of
Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved from Newfoundland and Labrador
Association of Social Workers website
http://www.nlasw.ca/pdf/DiscussionPaperCostOfEating.pdf
FAO. (1996). Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of
Action. World Food Summit 13-17 November 1996. Rome, Italy: Economic and
Social Development Department, FAO.
FAO. (2005). Increasing the contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation
and food security. FAO, Rome.
FAO. (2009). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2008. FAO, Rome.
Feenstra, G. (2002). Creating space for sustainable food systems: Lessons from the field.
Agriculture and Human Values 19: 99–106.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2010). Assessment of the cod stock in the Norther Gulf of
St.Lawrence (3Pn, 4RS) in 2009. Retrieved from Fisheries and Oceans Canada
website http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/CSAS/Csas/publications/sar-
as/2010/2010_011_e.pdf
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2008). 2007 Survey of the Recreational Cod Fishery of
Newfoundland Labrador. Retrieved from Fisheries and Oceans Canada website
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/initiatives/cod-
morue/NLCod2007Report_FINAL-eng.pdf
Fisheries and Oceans Canada. (2006). Canadian fisheries statistics 2006. Retrieved from
Fisheries and Oceans Canada website
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/commercial/cfs/2006/cfs06-eng.htm
Food Banks Canada. (2009). Hunger Count 2009. Retrieved from http://www.cafb-
acba.ca/documents/HungerCount2009NOV16.pdf
Food Security Network of Newfoundland and Labrador. (2011). Bulk buying club best
practices toolkit. Retrieved July 04, 2011 from
http://www.foodsecuritynews.com/Publications/Bulk_Buying_Club_Best_Practic
es_Too lkit.pdf
81
Frazer, K. (2009). From Sea to Plate. The Nature Conservancy. Retrieved from
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maine/news/news3
232.html
Government of New Brunswick. (2010). The Experience Collection. Retrieved May 4
2011 from
http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca/Home/Activities/ExperienceCollection.asp
x
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. (2006). Eating Healthier in Newfoundland
and Labrador Provincial Food and Nutrition Framework and Action Plan.
Retrieved from Department of Health and Community Services website
http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/publications/provincialnutritionplan.pdf
Hamm, M. & Bellows, A. (2003). Community food security and nutrition educators.
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour 35: 37-43.
Hashimoto, A. & Telfer, D.(2006) Selling Canadian culinary tourism: Branding the global
and the regional product. Tourism Geographie 8(1), 31-55.
Hawaii Seafood Council. (2010). Honolulu Fish Auction. Retrieved July 04, 2011 from
http://www.hawaii-seafood.org/auction/
Health Canada. (2008). Canada’s Food Guide. Retrieved from Health Canada website
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/choose-choix/meat-
viande/index- eng.php
Henderson, J. (2009). Food tourism reviewed. British Food Journal 111(4), 317-326.
Howse, D., Gautrin, D., Neis, B., Cariter, A., Horth-Susin, L., Jong, M., & Swanons, M.
(2006). Gender and snow crab occupational asthma in Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada. Environ Res 101(2):163-74.
Khan, A. & Neis, B. (2010). The rebuilding imperative in fisheries: Clumsy solutions for a
wicked problem? Progress in Oceanography 87, 347-356.
La Valley, K. (March 2009). Yankee co-op sells direct at farmers’ markets. Commercial
Fisheries News. Retrieved July 14 2011 from
http://www.yankeefish.com/files/B-2.pdf
Laurin, D. (2010). DFO Gaspé - Lower St. Lawrence Area: Pilot Project. Department of
Fisheries and Oceans. Retrieved from the CURRA website at www.curra.ca
82
Lawn, J., Robbins, H. and Hill, F. (1998). Food affordability in air stage communities.
International Journal of Circumpolar Health 57 (Supp 1), 182-188.
Long, L, Ed. (2004). Culinary tourism. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press.
Mahaffey, K., Clickner, R. & Jeffries, R. (2008). Methylmercury and omega-3 fatty acids:
Co-occurrence of dietary sources with emphasis on fish and shellfish.
Environmental Research 107, 20-29.
Marsden, T., Banks, J., and Bristow, G. (2000). Food supply chain approaches: Exploring
their role in rural development. Sociologia Ruralis 40(4), 424-438.
McCullum, C. (2005). Evidence-based strategies to build community food security.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 105(2), 278-283.
National Park Service. (2011). New Bedford Whaling. Retrieved from U.S. Department of
the Interior website http://www.nps.gov/nebe/index.htm
Neis, B. & Williams, S. (1996). Women and children first: the impacts of fishery collapse
on women in Newfoundland and Labrador. Cultural Survival Quarterly 20(1), 67-
71.
Neville, V. (2011). A Population Assessment of Chionoecetes opilio in Bonne Bay,
Newfoundland Paper presented at Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium,
Memorial University. St John’s, NL.
New Brunswick Department of Tourism and Parks. (2010). 2009-2010 Annual Report.
Retrieved from Department of Tourism and Parks website
http://www.gnb.ca/0397/documents/annual_report2009-10.pdf
Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency. (2009). Community Accounts. Retrieved
from the Community Accounts website
http://nl.communityaccounts.ca/default.asp
Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism. (2011). Food and Dining. Retrieved April 19 2011
fromhttp://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/ThingsToDo/FoodDining
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (2011).
Frequently asked questions. Retrieved from Department of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation website
http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/publications/2009/Vision_2020.pdf
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (2010).
Annual performance report for fiscal year 2009-2010. Retrieved from
83
Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation website
http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/publications/2010/TCRAnnualReport2009_10.pdf
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation (2009).
Uncommon Potential- A Vision for Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
Marketing. Retrieved from Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation
website http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/publications/2009/Vision_2020.pdf
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. (2011). Seafood
industry year in review 2010. Retrieved from Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture website: http://www.fishaq.gov.nl.ca/publications/yir_2010.pdf
Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. (2008). Fish
Processing Licensing Manual. Retrieved from Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture website: http://www.fishaq.gov.nl.ca/publications/fplpm.html
Newquay Fish Festival. (n.d.a). Sponsors. Retrieved August 24 2011 from
http://newquayfishfestival.co.uk/node/143
Newquay Fish Festival. (n.d.b). Exhibitors. Retrieved Augsut 24 2011 from
http://newquayfishfestival.co.uk/node/11
Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. (2010). Retrieved July 04, 2011 from
http://namanet.org/csf/port-clyde-fresh-catch
Nova Scotia Department of Economic and Rural Development and Tourism. (2011).
Experience Nova Scotia: A toolkit. Retrieved from Nova Scotia Department of
Economic and Rural Development and Tourism website
http://www.gov.ns.ca/tch/pubs/ExperienceToolkitApril2011.pdf
Nova Scotia Museum (2011a). Who we are. Retrieved April 20 2011 from
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/fma/en/home/default.aspx
Nova Scotia Museum (2011b). About the museum. Retrieved April 20 2011 from
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/fma/en/home/aboutthemuseum/default.aspx
Nova Scotia Participatory Food Security Projects. (2009). Cost and affordability of a
nutritious diet in Nova Scotia. Halifax, NS: Mount Saint Vincent University.
Off the Hook Community Supported Fishery. (n.d). Atlantic Canada’s First Community
Supported Fishery. Retrieved July 04 2011 from http://www.offthehookcsf.ca/
Parks Canada. (2011). Parks Canada attendance 2006-07 to 2010-11. Retrieved from
Parks Canada website http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/docs/pc/attend/table3.aspx
84
Parks Canada. (2010). Gros Morne 2009 Visitor Study. Atlantic Service Centre, Parks
Canada.
People’s Food Policy Project. (2011). Resetting the table: A people’s food policy for
Canada. Retrieved from the People’s Food Policy Project website
http://peoplesfoodpolicy.ca/files/pfpp-resetting-2011-lowres_1.pdf
Port Clyde Fresh Catch. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2011 from
http://www.portclydefreshcatch.com
Pouliot, N. and Hamelin, A.-M. (2009). Disparities in fruit and vegetable supply: a
potential health concern in the greater Quebec City area. Public Health Nutrition
12(11), 2051-2059.
Power, E. (2000). Combining social justice and sustainability for food security. For
hunger-proof cities. Ottawa, ON: International Development Research Centre.
Prentice, R., Witt, S., & Hamer, C. (1998). Tourism as experience: The case of heritage
parks. Annals of Tourism Research 25(1), 1-24.
Prince Edward Island International Shellfish Festival. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.peishellfish.com/
Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board. (2008). 2008-2010 Activity Plan.
Retrieved Sept 27 2011 from
http://www.pfhcb.com/assets/Uploads/pdfs/Activity-Plan-2008-2010-Appeal-
Board.pdf
Qualmark. (n.d.). Retrieved May 5 2011 from http://www.qualmark.co.nz/
Quist, C. (2008). ‘Effort to revive the local economy: creating a local fresh fish market.’
Women in Fisheries Network of the Netherlands.
Quist, C. (2008). VinVis: The women in fisheries network. International Collective in
Support of Fish Workers.
Statistics Canada. (2001). Census. Retrieved August 22 2011 from
http://www.stats.gov.nl.ca/statistics/Census2001/PDF/MAR_Pop_OPD_Hhlds.P
DF
Statistics Canada. (2006, June 13). “Canadian Community Health Survey: New data on
smoking and on diabetes”. The Daily. Retrieved from
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/060613/dq060613a-eng.htm
85
Taste of Nova Scotia. (2010a). About Us. Retrieved April 26 2011 from
http://www.tasteofnovascotia.com/about/
Taste of Nova Scotia. (2010b). Retrieved April 6 2011 from
http://www.tasteofnovascotia.com/become-a-member/member-qualifications/
Tastes of Nova Scotia. (2010c). Adventures. Served Fresh Daily. Retrieved April 26 2011
from http://www.tasteofnovascotia.com/news/adventures-served-fresh-daily/
Temple, K. (2010). Opportunities for sustainable livelihoods in the southwest coast
lobster fishery. Retrieved from CURRA website www.curra.ca
Tjepkema, M. (2008). Adult obesity in Canada: Measured height and weight. Statistics
Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/access_acces/archive.action?loc=/pub/82-620- m/2005001/article/adults-adultes/8060-eng.htm#4
Travers, K., Cogdon, A., McDonald, W., Wright, C., Anderson, B., and MacLean, D. (1997).
Availability and cost of heart healthy dietary changes in Nova Scotia. Journal of
Canadian Dietetic Association 58, 176-83.
Tung, V. & Ritchie, J. (2011). Exploring the essence of memorable tourism experiences.
Annals of Tourism Research.
Venn, L., Kneafsey, M., Holloway, L., Cox, R., Dowler, E., and Tuomainen, H. (2006).
Researching European ‘alternative’ food networks: some methodological
considerations. Royal Geographical Society 38(3), 248-258.
Winne, M. (2003). Community food security: Promoting food security and building
health food systems. Community Food Security Coalition.
APPENDIX A: HOUSEHOLD SEAFOOD
Household Seafood Consumption SurveyThis survey is being sent to households throughout the region to gather information Newfoundland and Labrador seafood for people living in the Bonne Bay area.ways to
business opportunities, and the sustainability of local
fisheries.
The survey is organized through the Community
Research for Rec
Marine Station and in St. John’s). It is funded by the federal
government through the MITACS program and by the provincial government’s Rural
Secretariat.
This research is being led by Kristen Lowitt, a
It is supervised by Dr. Barbara Neis of Memorial University and Marion McCahon of
the provincial government’s Rural Secretariat. A steering committee of local people
has helped design the research and will review the results. The
research will be summarized in a plain language report which, upon completion, will
be available on the Community
at www.curra.ca. They will also be shared a
results will also be used in Kristen Lowitt’s doctoral research about food security in
the Bonne Bay area.
Completing this survey is voluntary. By completing it, you are indicating your
consent to participate in the study. This is an anonymous survey and we ask that
you please not include any identifying information on the survey.
When the survey is completed, please return it directly to the researcher using the
self-addressed stamped envelope provided. We ask that you please return the
survey no later than May 15
approved by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research
and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you
have ethical concerns about the research (such as the way you hav
treated or your rights as a participant), you may contact the Chairperson of
the ICEHR at icehr@mun.ca
86
D SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION SURVEY
Household Seafood Consumption Survey This survey is being sent to households throughout the region to gather information about seafood consumption and access to Newfoundland and Labrador seafood for people living in the Bonne Bay area. It is part of a larger research project looking for ways to increase food security, fishery-tourism products and
business opportunities, and the sustainability of local
fisheries.
The survey is organized through the Community
Research for Recovery Alliance (housed at the Bonne Bay
Marine Station and in St. John’s). It is funded by the federal
government through the MITACS program and by the provincial government’s Rural
This research is being led by Kristen Lowitt, a PhD Student at Memorial University.
It is supervised by Dr. Barbara Neis of Memorial University and Marion McCahon of
the provincial government’s Rural Secretariat. A steering committee of local people
has helped design the research and will review the results. The results of the
research will be summarized in a plain language report which, upon completion, will
be available on the Community-University Research for Recovery Alliance website
. They will also be shared at an upcoming workshop in the area. The
results will also be used in Kristen Lowitt’s doctoral research about food security in
Completing this survey is voluntary. By completing it, you are indicating your
he study. This is an anonymous survey and we ask that
you please not include any identifying information on the survey.
When the survey is completed, please return it directly to the researcher using the
addressed stamped envelope provided. We ask that you please return the
May 15th, 2011. The proposal for this research has been
approved by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research
and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you
have ethical concerns about the research (such as the way you hav
treated or your rights as a participant), you may contact the Chairperson of
icehr@mun.ca or by telephone at (709) 864-2861.
This survey is being sent to households throughout the region to about seafood consumption and access to
Newfoundland and Labrador seafood for people living in the t is part of a larger research project looking for
tourism products and
business opportunities, and the sustainability of local
The survey is organized through the Community-University
overy Alliance (housed at the Bonne Bay
Marine Station and in St. John’s). It is funded by the federal
government through the MITACS program and by the provincial government’s Rural
t at Memorial University.
It is supervised by Dr. Barbara Neis of Memorial University and Marion McCahon of
the provincial government’s Rural Secretariat. A steering committee of local people
results of the
research will be summarized in a plain language report which, upon completion, will
University Research for Recovery Alliance website
t an upcoming workshop in the area. The
results will also be used in Kristen Lowitt’s doctoral research about food security in
Completing this survey is voluntary. By completing it, you are indicating your
he study. This is an anonymous survey and we ask that
When the survey is completed, please return it directly to the researcher using the
addressed stamped envelope provided. We ask that you please return the
The proposal for this research has been
approved by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research
and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you
have ethical concerns about the research (such as the way you have been
treated or your rights as a participant), you may contact the Chairperson of
87
Introduction This survey should be completed by the person in your household who is responsible for shopping and cooking. It is divided into five parts and should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Some questions ask specifically about “Newfoundland seafood.” This is meant to include seafood from the island as well as mainland Labrador. If a question does not say “Newfoundland seafood” specifically, then we are asking about seafood from anywhere.
Part One: Frequency and types of seafood eaten
1. In the table below, please indicate how frequently your household eats
Newfoundland seafood at different times of the year.
Fall Winter Spring Summer
Less than once a week
Once a week
1-2 times a week
More than twice a week
Every day
Unsure
Comments:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the table below, please indicate how frequently your household eats seafood not from
Newfoundland at different times of the year.
Fall Winter Spring Summer
Less than once a week
Once a week
1-2 times a week
More than twice a week
Every day
Unsure
88
Comments:______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Are there any children in your household?
Yes No If yes, how often do they eat seafood compared to adult members in your household?
Same More Less
During what meal is your household likely to eat seafood?
Breakfast Lunch Supper None of the above All of the above
Please rank your household’s five favourite types of Newfoundland seafood from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ For the following types of Newfoundland seafood, please indicate (to the best of your ability) their frequency of consumption in your household now and five years ago:
Type of
Seafood
I now use 5 years ago I used
Often Now
and
then
Never Often Now
and
then
Never
Capelin
Catfish
Cod
Crab
Halibut
Herring
Lobster
Mackerel
89
Type of
Seafood
I now use 5 years ago I used
Often Now
and
then
Never Often Now
and
then
Never
Salmon
Shrimp
Scallops
Smelts
Squid
Trout
Turbot
Other
In addition to the fillets, are there any other parts of the fish you eat?
Tongues Cheeks Britches Heads
Other: please explain ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part Two: Ways of eating seafood
What are your household’s preferred forms of seafood? (Please check all that apply).
Fresh Frozen Canned Salted Pickled
In the list below, please indicate any ways your household may preserve seafood. (Please check all that apply).
Make salted fish Make pickled fish Freeze for the winter Other: please explain ______________________________________________
What are your household’s preferred ways of cooking seafood? (Please check all that apply).
Fish and brewis Pan fried Baked
90
Au gratin Deep fried Poached Barbecued Smoked Chowder/soup Other: please explain ______________________________________________
Part Three: Sources of seafood For each of the following types of Newfoundland seafood your household consumes, please indicate where you get it (check all categories that apply):
Type of Seafood
Sources of Seafood
Friends/family members
Local fish plant
Local grocery store
Supermarket (e.g. Dominion)
Superstore (e.g. Walmart)
Other/own catch/ recreational fishery
Capelin
Catfish
Cod
Crab
Halibut
Herring
Lobster
Mackerel
Salmon
Shrimp
Scallops
Smelts
Squid
Trout
Turbot
Other
Overall, what is your household’s main source of Newfoundland seafood? (Please check one)
Recreational fishery Friends/family members Fish plant Local grocery store Large supermarket (not local) Other: please explain ___________________________
91
Overall, what is your household’s preferred source of Newfoundland seafood? (Please check one)
Recreational fishery Friends/family members Local fish plant Local grocery store Large supermarket (not local) Other: please explain ______________________________
Why is this a preferred source for Newfoundland seafood? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On average, how often does your household eat out at restaurants?
Less than once a month Once a month 2-3 times a month Once a week More than once a week
When your household eats at a restaurant, how likely is it for at least one member of your household to order seafood?
Very likely Likely Not likely Never
Part Four: Seafood in your community
In general, how satisfied are you with the availability of Newfoundland seafood in your community?
Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither dissatisfied or satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Don’t know
Please explain: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In general, how satisfied are you with the affordability of Newfoundland seafood in your community?
Very dissatisfied
92
Dissatisfied Neither dissatisfied or satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Don’t know
Please explain: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In general, how satisfied are you with the quality of Newfoundland seafood in your community?
Very dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither dissatisfied or satisfied Satisfied Very satisfied Don’t know
Please explain: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part Five: About you and your household We are including a few questions about you and your household to help us better understand the sample of households that responded to this survey.
Please indicate the highest level of education you have completed. Less than high school Some high school High school diploma Some college College diploma Trade certificate or diploma Some university Bachelor degree Graduate degree
Please indicate your age.
21 and under 22 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 and over
93
Please indicate your sex. Male Female
Including yourself, how many people, presently live in your household? __________ Does any member of your household work: In the fishing industry (i.e. in harvesting, processing, or retail)?
Yes No In the tourism industry?
Yes No What is your household’s gross annual income?
Less than $10 000 $10 000 to $19 999 $20 000 to $29 999 $30 000 to $39 999 $40 000 to $49 999 $50 000 to $59 999 $60 000 to $69 999 Greater than $75 000 Greater than $100 000
Recommended